Hearts & Fists II: Retaliation
by T2 Angel
Summary: Guerrilla is back. And he is out to continue his work of world domination but he has one more thing in mind: a way to get back at Chun-Li and Ryu for his defeat two years prior. And, how he chooses to do that, can be summed up in one word: Retaliation. Rated T for Violence, Slight Language, and Suggestive Themes.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Uh-oh! UH-OH! GUESS WHO'S BACK?! And guess what I have! Yes, my friends, after so long, it is finally here! Welcome back to the "Hearts &amp; Fists" world and welcome to the sequel of the original story! First off, I want to thank all of you for sticking with me so long and waiting for this story. That means more to me than you will ever know. Now, then, here is the timeline of the stories:  
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**Hearts &amp; Fists  
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****Hearts &amp; Fists** \- The First Date  
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****Hearts &amp; Fists - Lovers' Sparring Match  
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******Hearts &amp; Fists - The Proposal  
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********Hearts &amp; Fists - The Wedding  
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**********Hearts &amp; Fists** \- A Deal's A Deal********

**********Hearts &amp; Fists II: Retaliation (Current story)  
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**********Alright, let's get some mechanics out of the way. First, the story is rated T for language and violence and some themes that are suggested. Nothing overt. Second, I strongly suggest reading the original story********************. That way, you can know who everyone is as there are a few of OCs. Also, DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to any of the "Street Fighter" characters or to the rights of another OC who I based off of a character from another franchise (I'll tell you who later). Those rights belong to those amazing owners.  
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**********Enjoy and welcome to ********************Hearts &amp; Fists II: Retaliation!**********

* * *

**Prologue**

In his prison cell, the former leader of Neo-Shadaloo, the monster known as Guerrilla, sat in the cold and dark. As near as he could tell, the prison was somewhere in South America but, due to the secrecy of his imprisonment and the methods of getting transporting him, he wasn't entirely sure. That hardly mattered to him, though, because he knew that, soon, he would escape and be free. Then, he would have his revenge.

That was all that concerned him. Day and night, all he did was contemplate his revenge. Revenge against all those who helped defeat him and destroy his empire. He plotted the painful endings he had for his enemies and none were worse than endings he had planned for Chun-Li and, the man who defeated him in combat, Ryu.

There was a rumble in the prison.

Guerrilla smiled. His revenge was at hand.

He walked to his cell door to hear people yelling in various languages. Seconds later, he heard another explosion and rapid gunfire. He stood up and moved away from his cell door. A few minutes later, it was knocked down by a mechanized battering ram; soldiers rushed in and looked at the large terrorist.

"Sir!" one of the soldiers shouted. "We're here to get you!"

"Very good," Guerrilla smiled.

They rushed down the hallway, heading out of the cell block. They came to a common area where more soldiers with machine guns were keeping the prison guards at bay. A number of soldiers surrounded Guerrilla while they protected him from the gunfire. One of the guards, armed with only a baton, rushed at Guerrilla but another soldier descended from the ladder of helicopter in time to kick the guard in the face, knocking him out. This soldier wore a tan military outfit with a black beret, had a military grade haircut, fair skin, blue eyes, and was impressively muscular.

Guerrilla smiled. "Your skills have never failed me, Kirill."

Kirill turned around and nodded, "Thank you, sir." He brought his wrist up, a communicator tucked in the sleeve. "All units, we have the leader. Proceed with the evacuation." He looked at Guerrilla and gestured toward the ladder, "You first, sir."

"Thank you." Guerrilla began to ascend up the ladder followed by Kirill. They entered the helicopter and, after securing himself in the seat, Kirill gave the pilot the okay to take off.

Guerrilla looked at the soldiers exiting the prison via airborne and ground vehicles. He then looked over a woman wearing a blue business suit and reading glasses. "Not that I'm not grateful for the rescue, Lana, but you and Kirill took long enough."

"I'm sorry, sir," Lana replied. "They hid you well."

"I can imagine."

"We had to search through a lot of records to even get a clue as to where you are," Kirill said.

"Hmm. I imagine Cammy White had something to do with that."

"I imagined the same."

"How are you, sir?" Lana asked.

"Just fine," Guerrilla answered. He chuckled. "Though, I am feeling a little… vengeful." He looked at Lana, "What is the status of the others?"

"Much easier to find, sir. As Kirill said, you were the hardest to track down."

He chuckled again, "Naturally."

"We should be able to extract them all and get them to Dubai in about eight days," Kirill added.

"After two years, that is just fine. Patience is something I've never had a problem with."

"What is our next plan, sir?"

He thought it over. That was a good question. He had plenty of time to consider revenge but not exactly how to go about it. "I assume we have already prepped the next stages of our plan."

"Yes, sir."

"We have the next targets designated, sir," Lana said.

"Then all that's left is to deal with the two who defeated me." Soon, the perfect word for his revenge came to him. He smiled and declared, "And I know how to do that."

"How so, sir?"

"Retaliation."

* * *

**A/N: Short, I know. But chapter 1 is up next. PLEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU!**


	2. Chapter One

**A/N: Welcome back! Chapter 1 is here! Enjoy, guys!**

* * *

**Chapter One**

Sagat was sitting alone at the bar, many people afraid to go near him due to his sheer size alone. He heard activity outside, apart from the usual activity in the streets in Kolkata. He noticed a few men enter the bar who were doing everything they could not to look at him.

That made him suspicious, immediately.

He narrowed his good eye at their reflection in the mirror. He knew there was about to be a fight. He was ready.

A man walked past him. He had a knife. He quickly tried to use it on the mountain of muscle. But, as always, Sagat was prepared.

He caught the assailant's hand and slammed him, head first, in the bar. Others rushed at Sagat. Their last mistake of the night. The Muay Thai fighter broke many of the men, sending a couple sailing out of the window of the bar. Sagat surveyed the damage but, somehow, he knew that this wasn't over.

A heavy footstep came through the door.

Sagat looked to see a large Japanese man standing there. What Sagat didn't know was the identity of this man: Ludge, the very same kickboxer who attacked Ryu and Chun-Li in Tokyo during their investigation of Neo-Shadaloo.

And an associate of Guerrilla.

Ludge ran at Sagat and swung hard for him. Sagat blocked the blow and followed with a right. Ludge deflected it and landed a solid punch to the rib cage of the Muay Thai champion. Sagat gritted his teeth but didn't go down nor lose a step. He reacted with a hard punch to the side of Ludge's ribs. He kicked him in the side and booted him through a wall of the bar. Sagat started to catch his breath but looked up and his eye became wide.

In a car outside, Guerrilla was getting out of it.

Sagat thought it best to ditch this battle for now. He ran out of the back of the bar, making his escape.

* * *

Guerrilla walked into the bar with Lana following behind, surveying the damage. "Sagat hasn't lost his touch."

After pulling himself up and out of the wall, Ludge rubbed the back of his head as he walked toward his leader. "I'm sorry, sir."

"No need for that," Guerrilla smirked.

"Shall we pursue him, sir?" Lana asked.

"No. Have our men track him, keep him at bay. The message was sent and received. And, with him on the run and in our sights, he won't be popping in on us without our knowledge. Keep the chase on him for now." He looked at his cohorts, "Let's go stopover in London and pay a visit to Cammy, shall we?"

* * *

It was just after 7 AM in London, the day after Sagat's attack, and Cammy sat in her decoy car, watching the home of House member George Collins. She waiting for him to make his exit and go about his activities, in hopes of catching in the act of something illegal. As she watched the door, her partner, Agent Selina Shaw, got in the car.

"Anything?" Selina asked as she got situated, putting a box of bagels and two cups of coffee between them.

"Nothing yet," Cammy replied. She took a cup of coffee. "Slippery rat, Collins is."

"Don't worry, Commander. We'll get him."

They saw him exit the house.

"Mm." Selina put her coffee down. "There he is."

"Mr. Congeniality," Cammy shook her head.

"Where do you think he's headed?"

"Probably, to any place we can't touch him without proper evidence."

"He'll slip up. We'll get him."

"I hope so. Problem with guys like him is that they think they are untouch…"

Suddenly, Collins head jerked to the side, rather violently, and he fell to the ground. Cammy's eyes went wide and jumped out of the car along with Selina, who immediately drew her gun. They rushed to see him dead on the ground. With a bullet hole in his temple. Cammy looked for a sniper but saw something she hoped she'd never see again.

Guerrilla. He was in a car, grinning evilly at his adversary.

"Oh, my God," Cammy breathed out.

"Cammy, what is it?" Selina asked.

Cammy looked at her then back at where Guerrilla was to see that his car was driving out of sight. "Something from the past."

* * *

Guile walked into his favorite bar in Los Angeles not long after 5:00 PM and sat down for a quick drink before heading off for home. He noticed he was being watched and wanted to move but was stopped by a hand clapping on his shoulder.

"Captain Guile, yes?" the man who had his hand on Guile's shoulder asked.

Guile looked up to see a large, African man with dreadlocks staring at him. He recognized him, instantly, causing his eyes to go wide. "You're…"

Guerrilla smiled. "My reputation precedes me."

"What the hell do you want?"

The terrorist sat down. "To talk, nothing more. For now."

Guile would've reacted but he got a good look around the bar and he knew he was surrounded so he stopped. He turned his attention back to this dangerous man. "What about?"

"I've already visited your dear friends, Cammy and Sagat."

Guile let a silent rage swell through him. "What did you do to them?"

"Calm down, Captain. They're fine. No harm done. Again, for now. At least, Sagat is fine for now. He was running pretty good last I saw him."

"What do you want?"

He turned serious. "The two who defeated me before."

Guile knew the names but he refused to say them. He just remained steel jawed.

And Guerrilla didn't expect any less. So, he said the names, himself. "Ryu and Chun-Li."

Guile was still seething, quietly. He really wanted to fight Guerrilla, himself, and end this before it got started.

"I hear they're married now. Wasn't it just a grand occasion?"

"Yeah," the captain replied, sarcastically. "Peachy."

"I imagine."

"What do you want them for?"

"Retaliation. For what they _think_ they cost me."

"What do you mean 'think'?"

"I may have been stalled but I have more plans than you think, Captain. Neo-Shadaloo was one. Tell Cammy to look into the H.A.T.E. Company. They were responsible for the assassination of British Parliament House Member George Collins today."

That death had just happened today, not even a full 24-hours ago. Guile's rage was simmering even more, especially since he couldn't attack Guerrilla without being taken out himself.

"Do warn the good couple, Captain. Tell them that I have more plans and I hope they have the fortitude to come after me." He got up. "Oh! And be a good man and call Ken Masters. I would go see him but, well, I don't want to endanger his son, Mel, or Eliza."

"And my wife and daughter?"

"Are fine, Captain. I've already tried going after the families of you people. It backfired slightly. No. I'd rather deal with targets." He nodded, "Adieu." Guerilla left.

Guile watched him and his goons all leave the bar and pulled out his cell phone and made the first of many calls he figured he'd be making today.

"_Hello?_" Ken answered on the other side.

"Ken, it's Guile. We have a serious problem."

* * *

The following day, Ryu and Chun-Li were just getting home when they saw a car sitting in their driveway with, much to their surprise, Ken, and Guile were leaning against the car with Cammy sitting on the trunk. The couple looked at each, perplexed, and got out of their car. They looked at the faces of their friends and saw their faces told the story that they should be concerned.

"Guys?" Ryu asked.

"Hey, bro," Ken greeted.

He looked at the others, "What are all of you doing here?"

"We need to tell you something."

"Are the girls okay?" Chun-Li asked.

"Oh, yeah. We told them that we're here and that we'd be outside, waiting for you."

"That's a relief, at least," she said, Ryu feeling the same way. "So, what's going on?"

"We have some bad news," Guile said.

"About what?" Ryu asked.

"They all had run-ins with an old…" Ken paused, "'friend'."

"Who?" Ryu asked.

"You might wanna brace yourself for this."

The couple looked at each other, very uncertain about what was about to be said. They looked back at their friends.

"Okay," Chun-Li said, still unsure.

Cammy took a deep breath and waited a few seconds. She knew what bringing this name up was going to do. "It was Guerrilla."

The blood of both fighters ran cold. That was the name they hoped they would never hear again.

"He's out…" Guile said, "and he told me to give you a message."

"What message?" Ryu asked.

"That's he got new plans. And that he dares you both to come after him."

* * *

**A/N: And we are off and running! Please, leave me some reviews! I really want to know what you guys think!**


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

The group moved inside of the house as the news of Guerrilla being free left the couple very unsettled. Sakura had been babysitting Mei, who had long since been put to bed. Ryu sent Sakura back to her dorm room, telling her to come by for breakfast in the morning and promising to let her know what was going then. After she was gone and making doubly sure that Mei was sound asleep, the couple went back down to the common room where their friends were waiting. Ryu started pacing while Chun-Li sat down and covered her mouth. She moved to cover her face, letting out a sigh of exasperation.

Ryu stopped and folded his arms, "Are you sure?"

"I talked to the guy, face to face," Guile answered.

"He just walked right up to you?"

"No one is more surprised than me."

The world fighter looked at his wife then back at the captain, "Not so sure about that."

"What is he up to know?" Chun-Li said in a muffled voice since she was still covering her face.

"We don't know yet," Cammy added. "But he is up to something. And he's already making moves."

"And where _is_ Sagat?" Ryu asked.

"No one knows," Ken answered.

"It was already impossible to keep track of him," Cammy explained. "Now… he's in the wind like never before. I just hope he's okay." She paused. "A phrase I never thought I'd use for him but… well, these are weird times."

"And about to get weirder."

"What's the plan?" Ryu asked.

"My partner in MI6 is looking into anything Guerrilla was into prior to his capture," Cammy explained. "Old allies, aliases, that sort of thing. And the H.A.T.E. Company."

"H.A.T.E. Company?"

"He told me about it," Guile said.

"Guerrilla said that they killed Collins in London," Cammy explained.

"Do you believe that?" Chun-Li asked.

"Had to. I was down the street when he was shot. I saw Guerrilla seconds later in car."

Chun-Li exhaled, "God…"

"So… we look into everything and, once we know something, we hunt Guerrilla down."

"How?" Ryu asked.

"With everything we got," Ken answered.

Ryu nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

Chun-Li looked up. "Cammy, have you heard about my brother?"

"Already checked in with Interpol. They have Chow relocated to a safe house for now. So far, though, it seems like Guerrilla hasn't even been targeting him."

"He said wouldn't be targeting our families," Guile advised.

"Just us," Ryu groaned, deducing.

"Right."

"Doesn't matter," Ken said. "We're gonna catch him."

Ryu wanted to believe that as did Chun-Li. But they remembered all they went through the last time they fought him. Despite already beating him and putting him in jail, it was a little hard to accept right now.

* * *

That night, while Ken and the others stayed at a nearby hotel, Chun-Li and Ryu lied in bed awake, trying to figure out what was going to happen next. Chun-Li had the biggest burden, self-inflicted but it was there.

Ryu rubbed her arm, lightly. "Hey, are you okay?"

She hated to admit to weakness but this was Ryu. She'd told him everything anyway, so, she could admit to this. "No. I'm nervous." She paused. "I'm scared."

"I know." He exhaled. He didn't like being weak any more than she did. But he felt the same. "So am I." He looked at the ceiling, "I'm worried about Mei and Sakura. And Ken, Guile, and Cammy. I'm even worried about Sagat."

"With Guerrilla… yeah." She remembered his first appearance. "He… changed everything the first time." She stopped. "We need to keep the girls safe."

"We will. We'll figure something out."

She stopped. "I hope so." She felt a tear threaten to fall. "I can't lose Mei again…"

"You won't." He pulled her closer. "We're not gonna let that happen."

She snuggled up to him closer. "I hope so."

He put both arms around her and exhaled. He was nervous too but his best to keep it under control as much as possible. If he worried anymore, she would turn into a nervous wreck. "Did you figure he'd back?"

She closed her eyes for a second then nodded. "You?"

"Yeah. I figured he'd come after us, too."

She paused. "Regrets?"

He looked down at her, "What do you mean?"

She pushed herself up to lean on her arm, looked at him, and sighed. She already had a defeated look on his face. "If you kept travelling… he'd never have been able to find you…" She shook her head, "If you hadn't come here, if we hadn't gotten mar…"

"Stop," he interrupted, pushing himself up as well. "Don't you dare think that way, not for one second. Of course, I don't have any regrets. I came here and I don't want to leave. Ever. And I'm not going to. Come what may."

"Ryu…"

"There is _nothing_, do you understand me? Nothing that can me ever regret my love for you, for marrying you, or for coming to here to be with you."

Two years together, one year married, and she still could fall for him all over again. She shook her head, "How did you become such a romantic?"

He smiled. "I'm not. I'm being honest."

She stared at him, lovingly. "I know he's coming. I know we have to fight him. But… just for tonight… can we forget about him?"

He gazed into her eyes, "Whatever you want."

She lifted up and kissed him, letting the night belong to the two of them.

* * *

Sagat wasn't sure how he was seen but he knew he was when heard shouting about two miles back. He hated running like this but he was on the disadvantage and needed to escape or, at the very least, get a better vantage point to have a fighting chance and on the street was not it. He ran into a warehouse, backing up as he closed the door behind himself. He figured his assailants saw him run into the building and he would have to fight them but, now, he had a controlled area that would provide some stability. He brought his fists up, ready for what came next.

Except for the semi-truck that plowed its way into the warehouse; that Sagat didn't see coming. Literally. He jumped out of the way just before it turned him into a splatter on the wall. He rolled along the ground, getting to his knee as two assailants jumped out of the truck. The men rushed at him and started fighting him but Sagat managed to subdue them both.

Despite winning this struggle, it was a hollow victory; Sagat was exhausted. He had to get some rest. He left the warehouse and saw that there was a fishing boat in a nearby river. He managed to get over to it without being seen by anyone else. He got in the boat and hid himself, needing to get all the rest he could. He worried about Ryu and Chun-Li, to his surprise, but he knew that they were strong enough to fend themselves. He would try to contact them when he could but, right now, he had to get some sleep. He knew he would need it because, with Guerrilla involved, this was nowhere close to over.

* * *

The following morning, Ryu and Chun-Li fixed breakfast for their daughter. With the news they were about to give, they felt like they needed to. They didn't want to say it out loud but they weren't sure that would ever get to do it again. They had decided what to do about keeping the girls safe and called Sakura over as they figured the best way to explain this was with both girls in the room. While they all sat and ate breakfast, Chun-Li stared at her adoptive daughter, trying to figure out the best way to approach this. Ryu could see her turmoil and knew she was still contemplating. He knew the best way to handle some things was straight on; but he, also, learned that tact was needed, as well. After all, even though she stuck with calling him "Mr. Ryu," Mei is his daughter, now, too.

"You girls enjoy it?" Ryu asked, after they finished eating.

They nodded.

"Good."

Sakura looked up and saw that the married couple was both wearing battle hardened faces under their parental love. And there was the small matter of the other fighters being at the house last night. She went back to finishing up her plate, "So… what's up?"

The parents of Mei looked at her.

"I mean, why the breakfast?"

"We need to talk to you both," Ryu answered.

Sakura sat her fork down as this sounded serious, even more so than she previously thought. "What's up?"

Chun-Li sighed. "Girls… we're gonna need you to go away for a while. We're going to send you to stay with Aunt Eliza and Miss Julia while me, Ryu, Ken, and our friends…" She didn't even know how to phrase that right away. "…go take care of something."

Mei looked up surprised, way more so than Sakura.

"Why?" the little girl asked. "What's wrong?"

Chun-Li walked up to her daughter. She placed her hands on her arms. She opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it. She couldn't get it out right away. When she could speak, there was a lot of emotion in her voice, "Sweetie… it's… it's complicated."

"Mommy… please," Mei pleaded. "You're scaring me."

Ryu could see in Mei's eyes that she needed to know. And that she wasn't as little as she used to be. "Chun-Li."

She looked up at her husband.

He motioned toward Mei. "She needs to know."

Chun-Li wanted to argue with him, disagree, but he was right. She looked at her daughter. "Do you remember the bad man who took you from me before?"

"Yes, ma'am," Mei nodded.

The warrior woman sighed. "He's escaped from prison."

"Guerrilla's back?!" Sakura screamed.

Ryu shot her a hard stare.

Sakura backed down.

"Is he really, Mom?" Mei asked.

Chun-Li nodded, "Yes, sweetheart. I'm sorry. I thought we were done with him." She paused. "I prayed we were." She stared at her. "But… he's back. And we have to go stop him."

Mei sat quiet for a second, bowing her head.

Everyone started to worry, immediately. For obvious reasons, no one ever brought up Guerrilla around the little girl; even Sakura never made the slightest reference to the terrorist, much to her credit.

Mei looked up, "Go get 'im, Mom."

Her reaction surprised Chun-Li and Sakura but Ryu could not be more proud, he even smirked a little.

"He hurt you and tried to hurt Mr. Ryu." She made a fist. "Just make sure he goes to jail!"

Chun-Li started to laugh. Adopted or not, this little girl was definitely her daughter. "You got it."

"Question: why can't I tag along?" Sakura asked.

"Do I have to list all of the reasons for that?" Ryu replied. "Or would like the top 10?"

Sakura folded her arms and turned her head, "Hmph!"

Chun-Li giggled. She looked at her daughter, "No matter what happens, Mei. I want you to know… I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Mommy."

"I am so very proud of you."

Mei smiled. "I'm proud of you, too!"

Chun-Li's heart felt a lot of relief and happiness at those words.

Sakura smiled. "So, what's the plan?"

"We're sending you guys to go to Eliza and Julia," Ryu said.

Sakura thought back, "Eliza is Ken's wife and Julia is Guile's, right?"

Ryu nodded.

"Okay, I always forget their names. Better watch that. But… you're sending us by ourselves?"

"If we go with you, that's just begging for trouble." He stared at his pupil, "This is where you are very important, Sakura."

"Okaaaaay?"

"I'm trusting you to protect and watch over, Mei. I will never give you anything more important to do for us than this."

Sakura could hear it in his voice. "Ryu… I swear. I'll look for her… with my life. Promise."

"Sakura…" Chun-Li stood up. "We want Mei safe… but we want you safe, too. Take care of yourself, too. Please."

Sakura appreciated their concern. If the choice came down to her and Mei, she already knew good and well what she could choose. But she decided to smile and put on airs for now. "Oh, come on, Chun-Li! I'm the…" She paused. "…like…" she counted her fingers, "sixth strongest woman in the world! I got this!"

The family laughed.

"So… when do we do this?"

* * *

**A/N: So, Guerrilla's return has everyone being put in danger. But, for now, only Sagat is being actively hunted. How long can he evade Guerrilla's men? What is the team's next move? And who is the H.A.T.E. Company? Be here next time to find out more. See you guys then!**

**REVIEWS, PLEASE!**


	4. Chapter Three

**A/N: Okay, there is a reason that I am putting this out so fast. The reason is because I have been writing this for a very long time, in tandem with everything else, including my book, which is done but being beta-read by some people. I want to complete it because it's time for me to. And, most of all, I have some very loyal people who read my last story like clockwork and, I hope, will read this one, as well. This story is for them. They wanted a sequel and they earned it.  
**

**Thanks for reading that, everyone! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

The plane carrying Mei and Sakura took off, bound for San Francisco. Ryu, Chun-Li, Cammy, Ken, and Guile watched it from the terminal.

"Oh, my God, I hope they'll be alright," Chun-Li grabbed her forehead.

Ryu put his arm around his wife. "They will be."

They both looked back at the plane.

"So, what now?" Ken asked.

Cammy checked her PDA. "I just got a message from Selina. She wants to have a video conference with me right now."

They went to her laptop and turned the video chat with Selina, who was at MI6 Headquarters in London.

"What do you have?" Cammy asked.

"_I looked into the H.A.T.E. Company that Captain Guile mentioned, Chief,_" Selina explained.

"And?"

"_It's not good._"

"How so?"

"_Well, first, their name is pretty crazy. It stands for Hate, Anger &amp; Terror Enterprises._"

"That's encouraging," Guile said, sarcastically.

"_It's worse because they live up to their name. These guys have their finger in a whole lot of pies. Terrorism, espionage, all the cakes and bakeries._"

"'Cakes and bakeries'?" Ken asked.

"It's her thing," Cammy said. She looked back at Selina, "What else?"

"_There leader is the guy._" An image came on the screen of a man is his early 40s with scar on the left side of his face wearing a red beret and military attire. "_Kirill Alkaev._"

"He's not their leader," Chun-Li said. "Guerrilla is. This guy is just a front, probably a figure head and gives the orders Guerilla hands down."

"Makes sense," Cammy said. "What else do you have?"

"_We have a confirmation of their next target._" Selina answered.

"Where?"

"_The Fenix Corporation. Their Research and Development Headquarters._"

Cammy narrowed her eyes as she looked at the map. "Mumbai."

"_I can have you all on a plane in an hour._"

"Book it."

"_Yes, Mum. I'll email you the flight information._"

"Thank you, Selina."

"_Right. Should I meet you in Mumbai?_"

"No, I need you to stay in London. We're on the ground; I need someone we can trust at base."

"_Are you sure?_"

"Trust me, Selina. Besides you, I'm around people I trust me with my very life."

Selina smiled, "_Yes, Mum._"

"See you soon."

"_Alright. Stay safe._" Selina cut the transmission and Cammy closed her laptop.

"Thanks for what you said," Ryu smiled.

"Wasn't hard to say it," Cammy replied. "Meant every word."

"Guess we're off jet setting again," Ken smirked.

"Let's hope for less bullets this time around," Guile scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, no such luck," Cammy started putting her stuff away. "Let's grab some food before our flight."

They went to a restaurant that Chun-Li and Ryu frequented. While the comedy of Guile trying to work his hands around chopsticks and Ken teasing him were nothing to forget, the married couple at the table was sitting with forlorn looks. Ken took a break from teasing Guile to look at his best friend and his wife.

"You guys okay?" Ken asked them.

They looked up at him then at each other, not sure how to answer.

"You don't recognize that look, Ken?" Guile asked.

Ken looked at Guile then back at his compatriots. He understood. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I know that look."

"What?" Cammy asked.

Guile looked at her, "It's the fear of being a parent, Cammy."

"Yep," Ken pushed his food around. "You get scared for your kids when you're the same room as you. Let alone when they are out of the country."

"You left out the madman looking for us," Chun-Li said.

"No. For once… I was keeping my mouth shut."

"Only once," Ryu joked.

Ken smiled. "Glad you still have that sense of humor you found only after you got married."

Ryu rolled his eyes.

"We're going to get these guys," Cammy reassured. She smiled. "And all of you are gonna be one big happy family again."

"Here's hoping," Chun-Li said.

"It'll happen." Ken paused when he got text on his phone. He looked at groaned, "Ah, dammit."

"What's wrong?" Cammy asked. "Is it Eliza?"

"No. Sean. He just got on a plane because he's heading to Seattle for a tournament and said that he'd probably stop by L.A. after it was over. But I forgot to tell him I wouldn't be there. With everything happening, I completely forgot about it." He sighed. "I think Eliza remembers he's coming but I better remind her." He went to put in the text message.

Guile looked at him for a second then asked, "Should we still be carrying our cell phones?"

"I've been going back and forth about that." Cammy pulled hers out of her pocket. "Guerrilla's good. He's probably already been tracking us. Texts and everything."

"Oh, dammit!" Ken growled, after realizing that he had already hit "SEND".

"Yeah." She sighed. "But don't worry about that one. Guerrilla probably knew we'd all be in Hong Kong already."

"This is how he works," Chun-Li mused. "He knows we all have people we care about that we can't be away from. That we want to stay in contact with me." She exhaled. "It's two years ago all over again."

Cammy put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll decide later. Let's just finish eating then get to our plane."

* * *

The team wasn't sure what to do but decided to throw caution to the wind and keep their cell phones on them; they got on board their plane, bound for Mumbai. They were all in First Class with Ryu and Chun-Li sitting by the window with Cammy, Guile, and Ken sitting the center aisle. Chun-Li hated all of this made her feel as she looked out of the window. She felt weak, pathetic, like she hadn't accomplished so much and wasn't one of the strongest women in the world. But one mention of Guerrilla's name and she felt like the damsel in distress all over again and she hated herself for it. Maybe it was because he kidnapped Mei in the first place or maybe because proved to be stronger than originally thought and threw her down a stairwell. Regardless, she felt pathetic and couldn't stand it. She didn't want to be weak again and she knew she had to be strong. She started seething, quietly, making a fist so tight that she started to tremble.

However, she kept forgetting the one key thing that she has, now, that she didn't have two years ago when the Neo-Shadaloo incident first took place. She was no longer alone.

Ryu heard her breathing, angrily, though she didn't realize she was doing it, and looked to see her fist shaking. He already knew how all of this was making her feel. He remembered, all too well, how she felt the first time Guerrilla entered their lives. He put his hand on top of hers. That alone calmed her down. She looked over at him and leaned on his shoulder and he put his arm around her.

He kissed her head and exhaled, whispering, "It'll be okay."

She nodded.

Cammy looked over at them and gave an elbow tap to Ken to get his and Guile's attention. They looked over and realized again how much they really meant to each other and how much this affected them. This had to be settled and soon. The trio knew that a family was new, great territory for them both; having it was great but the possibility of losing it terrified them both. Each of the three all made their resolution to take down Guerrilla, H.A.T.E., and anyone who stood with them.

* * *

Guerilla smoked a cigar on his private plane when Lana walked in to the cabin and sat down.

"So, my dear," Guerrilla said, "is everything going according to plan?"

"Yes, sir," Lana turned on her tablet. "And, we've located your favorite operative."

He smiled. "Vicious?" He laughed. "Good! Tell him to be in Mumbai."

"Yes, sir."

"How about our newest addition?"

"Easier to find than previous expected. She said she will be happy to work for you."

"Splendid! And our guest of honor? How goes the search for him?"

"We believe we've located him but I'm going to make sure."

"How many sacrificial lambs are we sending?"

"Twelve. All believed they would be getting powers like M. Bison."

He chuckled and looked out of the window. "How easily fools are…" He chuckled. "…fooled."

"Yes, sir."

"Splendid. Tell Vicious to go to Mumbai and prepare him for battle. Let's see how Ryu, Chun-Li and their friends do against my good and faithful servant."

* * *

**A/N: So, who is Vicious? Who is the "newest addition" and who is the "guest of honor"? What awaits the team in Mumbai? There are very many questions that will, slowly but surely, get answered. See you guys next time! REVIEWS, PLEASE!  
**


	5. Chapter Four

**A/N: Wow. Wow. Wow, guys. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. 14 Reviews in one day. No story of mine has ever done that before. I am literally in tears of joy. And I don't even know how to thank you all. I don't even know how to begin to do that. Thank you all so much. That's all I can say right now. I am just so overwhelmed. Thank you, guys. You made my week. All of you are awesome.  
**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

After landing in Mumbai, the team headed straight for the hotel to make their plans on what to do next against H.A.T.E. Company. Cammy started her laptop up and began examining the Fenix Corporation, searching the internet combined with all the information that Selina sent them.

"So, Fenix Corporation," Ken said. "Who are these guys?"

"They specialize in computers and computer systems of all kinds," Cammy said. "For military and domestic use around the world."

Ken paused. "Well, that's kinda lame."

"Oh, shut up! Anyway, this is their main headquarters. They have facilities all over the world but their biggest projects happen right here. In particular, any huge computer breakthroughs and all military projects are tested here. Whatever H.A.T.E. is after, it'll be there."

"Do you think Guerilla will be here?" Ryu asked.

"Probably."

"Do we even know what they're after?" Guile asked.

"Not a clue." Cammy hit a few more keys. "Like I said, all of their big projects are tested here. It's like a bad guy's toy store."

"Nice analogy."

"I thought so. There've only been rumors through the criminal underworld that this is H.A.T.E.'s next target."

"And we believe this because?"

Cammy hit another key that brought up another screen on her laptop. It was security footage of H.A.T.E.'s supposed leader. "Kirill is already here. Surveillance cameras picked him up last night."

Chun-Li nodded. "Good enough for me."

Cammy paused and looked at her best friend. "Chun-Li, he probably _wanted_ to be seen. This could all be a way to get us out to the open."

"Like I said, good enough for me."

"So, what's the plan?" Ken asked.

"Me and Guile go in to see if we can find out what H.A.T.E. might be targeting," Cammy asked. "Selina got us credentials for Interpol so we can look around, calling it a joint operation with MI6 and the United States armed forces in the name of public security."

"Funny how little of that had to be made up," Guile pointed out.

"True." She looked at Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li. "You guys just stay outside and wait for us."

Ken scoffed, "What? Are you afraid we're going to make things worse?"

Guile and Cammy looked at each other then back at him. "Yes."

Ken just rolled his eyes.

Cammy looked at Chun-Li and Ryu. Their expressions were the same as they had been since Hong Kong. "Don't worry yourselves, guys. This is the best chance we have and we're going to take it. We're gonna get Kirill and take down Guerrilla."

The couple nodded but they had the same thought going through their minds. '_With Guerrilla, it's never that easy._'

* * *

The following morning, Cammy and Guile entered into the Fenix Corporation building, while Ryu, Chun-Li, and Ken sat across the street at a restaurant. They ordered food to avoid looking too conspicuous but only Ken had any kind of real appetite. Ryu and Chun-Li only ate to keep their strength up.

"Think it's a good idea letting them go in alone?" Ken asked.

Chun-Li considered the question for a second before answering, with a deep sigh, "No choice. We can't all just go in. That wouldn't make any sense. We'd be way too conspicuous and we don't even know what their after."

"Plus, easier to look for anything wrong from out here," Ryu added.

"Alright. Sounds smart to me." Ken tilted back in his seat a bit. He looked at the couple. "You guys still worried about Mei?"

"More than I want to admit out loud," Ryu added.

"Maybe we can call them."

Chun-Li remembered that they all still had their cell phones. "Too risky. Just carrying them on us is probably a bad idea. Making a call is probably worse." She rubbed her face with her hand. "Even though, it's driving me crazy."

Ken couldn't help but understand. He wasn't sure what he would do if someone kidnapped his son. "It's gonna be okay. I'm positive Eliza has them laughing and acting crazy. They're probably eating ice cream and watching movies and laughing at whatever Mel does."

Ryu and Chun-Li laughed, letting the mental images sooth their tormented minds. After the moment of reprieve, they all went back to watching Fenix building for any signs of trouble.

Ken figured that they were both still stressing; he didn't blame them. He decided to keep things upbeat. He looked at them again, "So, how's married life?"

Ryu chuckled. He had to admit: it was actually quite the question. "Pretty good."

Chun-Li allowed herself a smile. "Only 'pretty good'? Am I doing something wrong?"

He smiled at her. "Not a thing."

She felt a little proud at hearing that. She even sat a little straighter.

"Except hog the covers."

She scoffed. "You snore."

He was taken aback. "I do not."

"Yes, you do."

"I don't."

"Sorry, buddy," Ken chimed in. "But I gotta side with Chun-Li on that one."

"No, I don't."

"Yeah, you do. It's like… two bears fighting in the woods."

"That's exactly what it sounds like!" Chun-Li said, joyfully.

Ryu rolled his eyes. "I don't."

"Don't make me record you."

"You wouldn't."

"I'd put it on YouTube for all the world to see."

Ryu stared at her. "You are so lucky I'm in love with you."

Chun-Li stared at him as a smile stayed on her face. "Right back at you."

Ken smiled seeing them like this. It reminded him of their wedding day. But he couldn't let them get away with it. "Oh, gag! Yuck! Get a room!"

Ryu looked at him, "Fine. You, Guile, and Cammy can sleep in the rental car."

Ken was proud of his best friend's comeback. He chuckled, "Touché! Nice!"

Ryu shrugged, "I've been working on my retorts."

"It's amazing how true that is," Chun-Li added.

"You don't stay up at night working on them, do you?" Ken asked Ryu.

"Do you mean recently?" Chun-Li answered.

"Chun-Li!" Ryu hit his head on the table in embarrassment.

Ken laughed. "I'll take that as a yes!"

"Resounding," Chun-Li smiled.

"And this is why we live in China," Ryu looked at his best friend, "And _you_ live in America!"

"I'm due for a visit, though," Ken smirked. "A _long_ vacation."

"Shut up, Ken."

They all had a nice laugh. It was a big relief, even if it was temporary.

* * *

Cammy and Guile were sitting outside of the office of Hari Narang, the director of operations for Fenix, for a couple of minutes when his door opened.

He came out of his office and smiled at them. "You are the ones with Interpol?"

Cammy stood up first, "Yes, sir." Guile followed suit. She shook Narang's hand. "I'm Cammy White and this Captain Guile."

"A pleasure, sir," Guile greeted. He shook Narang's hand.

"To both of you, as well," the director replied. "I am Hari Narang, director of operations, here."

"Thank you for meeting with us," Cammy said.

"It is an honor. Can we walk and talk?"

"Of course." They all proceeded down the hallway.

"My assistant told me that you were coming as you heard that we're to be robbed."

"Just a suspicion as this point," Cammy admitted. "But we wanted to take a few precautions."

"I'm honored to see Interpol wanting to help us out but can you tell us what might be taken?"

"We don't know, Mr. Narang. I know it's probably not possible to talk about but do you know of anything that a group known as H.A.T.E. Company might be looking for?"

Narang chuckled. "Take your pick, Inspector. We've been working on a number of products for both military and domestic applications. We have a lot of competitors wanting to steal our ideas and our prototypes."

"And only one who's actually able to do so," Guile mused.

"It's why we have hired our own security force along with our government's own military. We need the extra security."

'_I doubt it'll be enough,_' Cammy thought to herself.

They kept walking for another few minutes until they came by a large, cylinder computer device.

"And, may I ask, what that is?" Guile asked.

Narang paused and looked. "Oh! That is our latest design. We call it Red Eclipse. It's a major component of a satellite defense system for taking down enemy missiles from space."

"Wow."

"Is it operational?" Cammy asked.

"The computer itself, yes," Narang answered. "Just not the operating system. We have an others working on that."

"Can we ask who?"

"Two professors: Dr. Amit Sharma and Dr. Bernard Bordeaux. They're brilliant with computer systems and do contract work for us from time to time."

"Can we speak to them?" Guile asked.

"Sorry, but no. They are doing work on the operating system in our Paris office. Testing it out there bringing it here for the final stage of testing."

"Why the separation?" Cammy asked.

Narang chuckled, "As I said: competitors. Red Eclipse could revolutionize defense systems worldwide. A lot of people would like to get their hands it to either sell it or use it. It's for security purposed."

That set off red flags for Guile and Cammy, immediately.

"Interesting," Cammy said with silent dread.

They toured the rest of the facility for the next half hour, with Cammy and Guile noticing a number of things that H.A.T.E. would come for. After the tour was over, they went back to Narang's office and waited for him there while he went to go tend to some other business.

"What do you think?" Guile asked as they sat in the office.

Cammy shook her head, "I don't know. H.A.T.E. _is_ coming here. But, Lord knows they have their options on what to take. Like I said, it's a damn toy store for them in there. But I didn't realize how much. Anything in there could be dangerous in the right hands."

Guile stood up and walked toward the window, "Yeah, you're right there." He stared as he looked at something flying in the sky, coming toward the building.

Cammy sighed and leaned her head back, staring at the ceiling. "This is also assuming that they are even coming here. All we have is Kirill's presence in Mumbai. No guarantee that he is actually coming here."

Guile kept staring out of the window until he realized what he was looking at. His eyes went slightly wide. "You're probably more right than you know."

"What makes you say that?"

"That," Guile pointed out of the window.

Cammy followed the direction of his finger then sprang to her feet. They stared at the four Blackhawk helicopters coming straight for the Fenix building.

"Oh, bloody hell," Cammy said, exasperated.

Guile readied himself for a fight. "Looks like your theory was right on."

"I noticed. God, I hate being right." She ran for the door to the office and threw it open. "IF ANYONE CAN HEAR ME, EVACUATE THE BUILDING! NOW!" She looked and found a fire alarm. She pulled out, setting off alarms all over the building.

Guile kept watching the choppers as they went overhead, heading for another area of the building. He ran after them, following their sound, with Cammy following behind him. They followed the sound until they came to the room where the Red Eclipse was housed, just in time to see a large hole blown through the roof of the room and several armed soldiers. Cammy and Guile didn't need a sign to tell them: these attackers were with H.A.T.E. Company. The two fighters didn't waste any time in jumping in and starting to attack the H.A.T.E. soldiers. Despite being armed with assault rifles, the attackers were barely able to get any shots off before being taken down. Cammy was taken by surprise by a soldier swinging down from the ropes and kicking her. After recovering from the hit, Cammy looked up as the soldier removed her helmet to reveal a blonde woman with green eyes. Cammy recognized her from the Neo-Shadaloo incident: Kelly, the ninja who fought Chun-Li in London. Cammy just growled, got up, and went on the attack.

While they battled, Guile kept dealing with more soldiers while others secured the Red Eclipse. They had almost completed securing the machine when Guile dismantled the crew trying to secure it. He looked up through the ceiling and saw Kirill descending to the roof from one of the Blackhawks. Guile narrowed his eyes, grabbed a nearby rope and climbed up to the room.

Kirill landed on the roof just as Guile managed to pull himself up on top. The H.A.T.E. commander looked at him and smiled. "Captain Guile. I've heard about you."

"I've heard about you, too." Guile brought his fists up.

"Oh. So you want to fight." Kirill smiled and entered a fighting stance. "I would be honored."

* * *

Chun-Li, Ryu, and Ken rushed toward the Fenix building but stopped short as security was clearing everyone out.

Ken growled, "We need to get in there!"

Ryu looked and saw military vehicles heading in. "We may be able to get in that way."

"We'd have to force our way in and I don't wanna fight the Indian military _and_ H.A.T.E. Too many fights at once."

"Good point."

While still looking to figure out a way to get in, Chun-Li caught sight of the nightmare that returned into her life. Guerrilla was sitting in the back seat of a black luxury car, smiling at her. She gritted her. He motioned his finger to her in a "come on" motion. She was more than willing to oblige. The car started to take off and she chased after it.

Chun-Li saw a man getting on a moped, ran up to him, and stopped him. "Sorry. It's an emergency!" She hopped on and took off. She called back to the man, "Thank you!"

Ryu saw her take off and knew he had to go after her.

Ken looked in time to see her disappear around a corner, "Where the hell is she goin'?!"

"Only one thing would make her take off like that." Ryu looked at his best friend, "Get inside! Find Guile and Cammy! I'm going after Chun-Li!"

Ken realized why she must've taken off and why Ryu was going after. He nodded, "On it!" He rushed towards the Fenix building while Ryu chased after Chun-Li.

* * *

**A/N: So, I know what you all have been thinking: "Where are all the fight scenes, T2?" The answer, my friends? Chapter 5. Yes, the next chapter is nothing but fight after fight. Get ready, you guys, for what I have dubbed the Fenix Rumble or the Mumbai Breakdown. I haven't narrowed on which. I'm joking! But the next chapter does feature our heroes versus H.A.T.E. Also, Vicious makes his debut. You don't want to miss it.**

**I will ask for REVIEWS, for formality's sake, but I already trust you guys. And thank you. You have no idea how much each and every review means to me. Thank you so much.**


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

Guile threw a punch at Kirill that he managed to dodge. Guile tried for a knee but Kirill used his own to block the impact then punched Guile in the stomach. He went for an elbow to Guile's jaw but Guile caught his arm and threw him down on the roof. The Airman went to stomp the terrorist in the face but Kirill moved out of the way, rolling along the ground. He got to his feet and punched Guile in the face a few times but Guile caught one of the punches and struck Kirill in the chest a few time before throwing him on the roof. Guile ran over to attack him again but Kirill rolled out of the way, again. He hurried to his feet and punched Guile across the face as he approached. Guile stopped for a second to rub his jaw; he ducked quickly to dodge a kick from Kirill and answered with an uppercut that took the commander off of his feet. Kirill landed hard and stopped. Guile thought the fight was over until Kirill kipped up to his feet. The commander rolled his shoulders then cracked his neck, ready to continue the fight.

Guile scoffed and entered another stance. "Not bad."

"You, as well," Kirill smirked. "Shall we continue?"

* * *

Kelly dropkicked Cammy through the glass of the Red Eclipse room, sending her to the floor with small shards of glass cutting into her arms and legs, not enough to be damaging but enough to be irritating. Cammy growled as she dodged a double stomp from the ninja and answered with a kick across her face. Kelly dodged the next kick and answered with one of her own to Cammy's side. Cammy backed up into the hallway where Kelly propelled herself off of the wall to kick Cammy across the face. Kelly performed several flips before connecting with another blow to Cammy's face, causing Cammy to stumble away. The MI6 agent was at the limit of her patience with all of this nonsense. She got to her feet waited until Cammy was mid-flip to kick her in the stomach. She picked Kelly up and punched her in the face three times before Kelly fell back.

Kelly looked up, with her eyes wide at the sudden ferociousness.

Cammy motioned for her to continue the fight, demanding, "Come on."

* * *

Following the car that Guerrilla was in, Chun-Li followed him in the moped she commandeered while Ryu took the back allies. He kept falling as close as he could until he decided to start following along the roof of Mumbai.

Chun-Li chased Guerrilla's car through the Mumbai streets. How he was able to stay ahead of her on these crowded streets was beyond her. She followed as closely as she could until he came to an almost entirely clear street, where Guerrilla's car sped off. She pushed the moped as fast as it would go but it wasn't enough to keep up with the larger vehicle. She found that she caught a break when, on the next turn, there was a crowded market street, impeding the car's advance.

Chun-Li saw her chance; she got off of the moped and ran at the car. She was going to get this madman, here and now.

* * *

Guerrilla turned around in the back seat and saw her coming. He smiled and looked at Vicious. "Go introduce yourself. And stick with the plan. Just defeat her. Let her live."

Vicious nodded, "Yes, sir." He got out of the car.

* * *

Chun-Li got closer to the car when she saw someone get out of the backseat. She stopped short of the car, especially when the man walked around to the back of it.

Vicious stood about 6'2" with a long black coat, black pants, boots, a dress shirt, and black neck tie. He was a bit of a wiry man with long silver hair that hung down past his shoulders with some of his hair hanging in front of his face.

Chun-Li knew this man wanted to fight. She went ahead and entered a fighting stance.

Vicious narrowed his eyes and ran at her, throwing a hard, powerful kick at her. She managed to block it but it knocked her back. She stumbled away and Vicious charged at her, throwing several more, blindingly fast kicks at her. She managed to dodge all but the last one that caught her in the gut and caused her to stop all motions. Vicious went for another kick when he struck in the side of the face, courtesy of a kick from Ryu descending from a nearby roof. Vicious skidded along the ground before rolling to his feet. He looked at Ryu and Chun-Li and only narrowed his eyes. Ryu charged at him, Vicious hurried to his feet, sidestepped Ryu, and caused him to crash into a nearby market car. Chun-Li went to attack him next but Vicious ducked her kick and flipped her over, sending her near her husband. The couple looked at each other, a little surprised as who or, rather, what they were fighting. Just as they stood up, Vicious ran in and jumped at the couple, simultaneously punching Ryu and kicking Chun-Li.

They stumbled back from the blows and looked at this new enemy, flabbergasted at his skill and composure. He wasn't breathing hard; he wasn't even grunting when he attacked. With the faraway look he had in his eyes and the stillness he had about himself, Ryu and Chun-Li knew that this man was nothing but deadly.

* * *

Ken followed the Indian military forces as they tried to enter the Fenix building only to get involved in a firefight with two of the Blackhawk helicopters and H.A.T.E. soldiers arriving on foot. Dodging gunfire and explosions, Ken entered the building and followed the sound of the helicopters hovering until they got louder. The closer he got to them, however, their sound was replaced by the sound of grunting and blows landing. He hurried the next corner to see Cammy knocked to the ground by a kick from Kelly.

"Cammy!" Ken called out.

She looked at him then back at Kelly. She hurried to her feet, "Ken, go up another level and find the Red Eclipse! That's the target! Don't let them get away with it!"

"What about…"

"KEN, GO!" Cammy rushed at Kelly, punching her in the face.

Ken grunted and hurried off, leaving Cammy to continue her battle. He walked up the stairs and found more H.A.T.E. soldiers securing the large computer system. '_That must be it,_' he thought. He rushed in and started attacking soldiers, fighting them off left and right. He held his own until a few of the soldiers started firing their assault rifles at the blonde haired man. He ran around the corner to duck the gunfire. He kept behind it while more of the soldiers locked cables around Red Eclipse.

Ken only peeked around the corner for a brief second to see that they were almost ready to take it before he had to duck to escape more gunfire. '_Not good! Not good at all!_'

* * *

Ryu into a market cart after a kick from Vicious. Chun-Li dove down and managed to kick Vicious in the back. He stumbled away and elbowed her as she rushed in. Ryu managed to get a solid punch in on Vicious's jaw. He stumbled away and caught a kick from Chun-Li. Vicious stumbled back and let out a huff of hot air. Ryu and Chun-Li looked at each other, nodded, and charged in to finish him off. But they called their victory too soon.

Suddenly, Vicious's body began to glow with an amber light, causing Ryu and Chun-Li to stop in their tracks. Vicious lifted his arms in the air, swung them before him, and threw a wave of energy of from his hands that crashed into the couple and sent them both sailing back. Ryu and Chun-Li struggled as they dealt with the force and pain from the attack and the landing. Their eyes went wide as Vicious charged for another attack as he was nowhere close to being done.

* * *

After a few more minutes, H.A.T.E. finished getting the Red Eclipse secure to the cables. Once testing the cables, they started lifting the device out of the building. Ken wanted to stop them but the sporadic gunfire kept him at bay. Once the Red Eclipse and the soldiers were clear of the building, Kirill smiled and kicked Guile back.

"Well, this was fun, Captain," Kirill pulled a grenade from his belt. He pulled the pin. "Let's do this again, sometime!"

He rolled it toward Guile, causing him to jump back into the hole the Red Eclipse just been taken from while Kirill grabbed one of the cables to make his escape. The grenade detonated causing part of the roof to cave in as Guile just got clear of the blast but the excess force threw him the ground much harder than he intended, leaving him dazed.

Ken rushed in after the ceiling fell. He coughed at the smoke and saw Guile lying on the ground. He rushed to his brother-in-law and checked on him, "Guile!"

"I'm alright," Guile said, angrily. He looked at the roof and rubbed his head, feeling some of the blood that was coming from it. "Damn it all!"

Ken sighed. "I get why Ryu and Chun-Li get so pissed when Guerrilla comes around."

"I'm starting to get there myself."

* * *

Cammy and Kelly both stopped their fight at the sound of the explosion from the grenade. Cammy instantly became worried about Guile and Ken but she looked at the smirking Kelly.

"Go on," Kelly smiled. "Go make sure your friends are okay. We can finish this up later."

Cammy growled. "You better hope to God we never meet again." She rushed off to find Ken and Guile.

Kelly just smiled. "Don't worry. We will." She made her escape.

* * *

Cammy found Ken helping Guile down the hallway. She rushed over to help support Guile's weight. "What the hell happened?" she asked, putting one of Guile's arms over her shoulder.

"They took the computer thing," Ken said.

"I heard an explosion."

"Kirill tossed a grenade. Landed hard when I jumped back in the room to avoid the damn blast."

"Think you'll be okay?"

"Yeah. Body just stings. I'm more dazed from the explosion than anything."

"That's something, at least."

Guile looked at Ken, "Where are Chun-Li and Ryu?"

Ken became grave. "They saw Guerrilla." Guile's eyes went wide, as did Cammy's.

"Where?" Cammy asked.

"I think he was in a car or something. I dunno, I didn't see him. Chun-Li saw him and took and Ryu ran after her."

Guile shrugged off their support, "We gotta find 'em. C'mon!" They all rushed out to find their friends.

* * *

Chun-Li went for a kick against Vicious but he collided against her kick with one of his own then hit her with an open palm, sending flying through the air. Ryu jumped to kick Vicious but he evaded the attack and grabbed his arm and threw him back against a wall. Vicious started to glow amber again. Ryu gritted his teeth to prepare for the incoming pain.

"KIKOSHO!" Chun-Li hit Vicious in the back with the energy attack, sending him flying through the wall he knocked Ryu against.

Ryu rolled away from the wall and stood by his wife. He was breathing hard, "Think that worked?"

Chun-Li was breathing hard, as well, "Who knows."

They waited for a while until they thought about moving to attack Guerrilla. Suddenly, the amber energy came flying off of out the wall, causing them both to dodge out of the way. Vicious jumped out of the building and came rushing at Ryu, kneeing him the gut, punching him the face, and kicked him across the street. Chun-Li stood ready as Vicious charged at her; they entered into a strong exchange until Vicious kicked her in the side hard enough to severely bruise her. He was about to attack her again with his fist raised.

"That's enough, Vicious," Guerrilla said.

Vicious stopped mid-motion and relaxed his body. "Sir." He walked back over to his leader's side.

"Kirill got what we came for. We can leave, now."

Vicious nodded, "Yes, sir."

Guerrilla looked at Chun-Li and smirked. "Not bad. He's killed dozens in less time than it took for you two to fight him. Your skills are truly amazing. Then again, I know that, firsthand."

Chun-Li huffed, "Bastard."

"Such venom, Chun-Li. It's not like I kidnapped your brother or daughter." He shrugged. "This time."

She couldn't believe how nonchalant he was being. It was like his loss two years ago never happened. "I'm going to take you down."

"Please, do try." He walked over to his car, followed by Vicious. He looked over at Ryu. "Remember to plant your feet more, Ryu. I hate for all of you to make this fight too easy for us." He chuckled, lowly, as he got in the car, Vicious climbing in behind him.

The couple got to their feet, with Chun-Li clutching at her side and Ryu limping a bit from his skinned leg. They watched the car drive off into the distance, both of them seething. They knew they were in no condition for going after them. And that made their rage grow even more. He was so close and he got away. Nothing was more infuriating than that.

"We'll get him, Chun-Li," Ryu breathed out, hatred radiating off of his voice. He looked at his wife. "We'll get him."

Chun-Li was seething more, her body was shaking. They had to get him; she had to. And, when she caught him, there would be hell to pay.

* * *

**A/N: So, how was that? What did you guys think? Please, let me know! I love hearing from all of you!  
**

**H.A.T.E. has the Red Eclipse but, as you all know, it's not operational yet. How will they get it working and what steps does the Team need to take to keep that from happening?**

**This story isn't even close to done, my friends. We have a lot left to go. See you next time!**


	7. Chapter Six

**A/N: Hey, guys! So, I forgot to mention in this in the last chapter. For those of you who watch _Cowboy Bebop_, yes, Vicious is a direct adaptation of that character in the anime with the same name. I used his design and character for this version of Vicious because, quite frankly, Vicious in _Cowboy Bebop_ was one of the most cold characters I'd ever seen and I always thought he was a total badass! I just wanted to show my respect to him in another way and I thought he would be a perfect addition to Guerrilla's team.  
**

**As usual, DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to Vicious or _Cowboy Bebop_. Those rights belong their respective owners.**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Just two hours after the H.A.T.E. Company's attack on Fenix Corporation found some of the team at a nearby hospital, Chun-Li was getting her cuts and fixed up by a doctor while Ryu watched with his arms folded. Ken sat backwards in chair, leaning his chin on the back of the chair. Cammy and Guile had gone back to Fenix to check on the damages and to get any more information that they could. The doctors tried to check Guile in but he convinced them that that he didn't need it. As the doctor continued to work, Chun-Li just sat with a faraway look in her eyes, kicking herself for what happened. She was so close to Guerrilla, to ending this nightmare. But he got away. Unlike before where that left her in tears, she was in a quiet rage now. Ryu felt the exact same way. Cammy and Guile walked in and surveyed the scene to see that they didn't feel any better than they did when they left and, in truth, that wasn't unexpected.

"Are you okay?" Cammy asked Chun-Li.

"Fine," Chun-Li said, quickly. They could all hear her anger beneath her calm exterior.

"Ryu?" Guile asked.

Ryu just heaved a hard sigh. That was all the answer he could muster. That was all the answer Guile needed to hear.

"Where is he?" Chun-Li asked.

Cammy sighed and put her hands on her hips. "We lost track. He goated out of the area and we lost track of him. He must have his own private plane or something."

"And let me guess," Ken spoke up, "there's no chance of tracking him?"

"Bingo."

"That was crazy," Guile grunted. "That attack was so damn systematic! It was like he waiting for us to get there before he made his move!"

Chun-Li paused. "That's exactly what he was doing."

Ryu looked up. "Yeah… yeah, he tends to do that."

"Great…" Ken groaned. "Guy's tough as nails, smart, _knows_ he can back it up, and _waits_ to prove it. Nothing worse."

"Well, that does settle one thing," Cammy spoke up. Everyone looked at her. "We need to ditch the phones."

The group all looked, unsure.

"Look, whether he tracked us or not, this next step has to be done as quietly as we can."

It wasn't what anyone wanted, despite it being the most logical step. No one liked it but they all knew it was the best move to make.

"Alright," Guile agreed. "We get rid of 'em. So, what then?"

"The good thing is that Red Eclipse is useless without the processor that's able to read all the satellite data the same time," Cammy explained. "Narang told us that it's still being tested. We have to get to it before Guerrilla does."

"He probably already knows about it," Ryu said.

"Knows about it, probably doesn't have it."

"Wishful thinking."

"Granted. Still… it's our best plan. Especially since it's our only plan."

"What company is it locked under?" Ken asked.

"Not company. Persons. Doctors Bernard Bordeaux and Amit Sharma."

"That first one sounded French."

"Good guess."

"I'll give you one more as to where he lives and where we're going," Guile smirked.

Ken smiled. "New Orleans?"

"Good guess, again, I'll give you that. But nope."

"We're off to Paris!" Cammy said with some joy, hoping to continue to help lighten the mood.

Chun-Li and Ryu didn't feel much like being brought out of their mood but, all the same, they appreciated the effort. Even if it didn't show. Chun-Li stood up. "Let's go." Ryu followed right behind her. The others looked at each other and shrugged, following right behind.

* * *

The team went to their hotel to pack up and get ready to go. As everyone else was getting ready to go, Cammy pulled out her laptop and set it on the bed among the other four, who looked at her, curiously.

"Call them," Cammy ordered.

They knew who she meant; everyone in Los Angeles, their families.

She checked her watch. "It's 9 o'clock here. So it's about 7 or so in the AM there." She lowered her wrist. "Wake 'em up."

"Cammy…" Chun-Li was about to argue.

"That _wasn't_ a request, Chun-Li. Call your family while I call Selina. My phone's encrypted so Guerrilla won't be able to know what I'm talking to her about."

"While he might be watching us on a video chat?" Guile asked.

"Exactly. Let him see how determined you guys are to end this. Oh, even better, forget all about him. Don't even bring up the bastard. Say hi to your family, laugh with them. Just don't say where were going."

Ryu and the others couldn't lie to themselves; they were dying to speak to their loved ones. But it just seemed too risky.

"Are you sure about this?" Ken asked.

"Positive." She turned the laptop and got the camera chat started. "Call them. Right now."

A half hour later, the team had established contact with their families in Los Angeles. They were welcomed by a chorus of cheerful greetings, led by Mei, Mel, and Sakura. The happiness on Mei's face brought joy to Ryu and Chun-Li; first time they had that feeling since all this started.

While they had their moment with their families, Cammy went in the hallway and dialed Selina.

"_I figured I'd be hearing from you soon, Chief,_" the other agent answered.

"Any word?" Cammy asked.

"_None, Mum. Guerrilla hasn't been seen near a camera since Mumbai, hours ago. I've put out a BOLO with every organization that will even halfway pay attention to it but, really, it's a crapshoot. At this point, he could anywhere._"

"Like France."

"_Huh? What's in France?_"

Cammy paused. Her suspicion of who to trust was growing, especially after the attack on Fenix. It wasn't like Selina was an unsavory individual but the problem was knowing if she could fully trust her or not. Cammy had known many good liars in her life. She didn't know Selina all that well, as they had only been partners for just over a year; so, she couldn't be sure if Selina was genuine or not, especially now.

Taking notice Cammy's long silence, Selina asked. "_Chief?_"

"Selina. I _can_ trust you, right?"

Selina was surprised. "_Chief, come on!_"

Cammy immediately chided herself for the unfounded accusation she just made. "I know, I know. Just… this thing with Guerrilla. It's leaving a lot of questions."

Selina paused. "_I get you Chief._" She sighed. "_I don't want you to think you can't trust me, Mum. But… I don't know how to prove that you can._"

Cammy let that thought twirl in her head for a second. "Get me the phones, credentials, at least, two good service weapons, and five tickets to Paris. Set us up with a good hotel, there. In fact, the best. Give us the works."

Selina paused. "_You didn't have to tell me where you were going._"

"I know. But I've decided to keep trusting you, Selina. You haven't given me any reason to not."

Selina smiled. "_Thanks, Mum._" She was quiet for a second as she typed. "_Phones will be waiting for you with our man in Mumbai in a little while. Get the phones to him before you leave for your flight._"

"When is our fight?"

"_Three hours._"

Cammy checked her watch, "Got it. We better get moving, then." She paused, realizing that she should probably apologize. "Selina…"

"_I understand, Mum. I wouldn't know who to trust, either. But, believe me: I've got you covered. I swear it._"

Cammy didn't know why but she knew that Selina was trustworthy. "Thanks, Selina. Stay safe."

"_You, too, Mum._"

Cammy hung the phone up and walked back into the room and she saw her friends laughing and smiling. It had been a while before she saw genuine smiles on Ryu and Chun-Li. She hoped everything would end well but she had her doubts. Though she did her best to keep the couple's spirits up, she knew good and well why Ryu and Chun-Li feel as they did when it came to Guerrilla. If the Neo-Shadaloo Incident and the battle at Fenix had proved anything, it's that this battle was far from over and everything was still at stake.

* * *

Guerrilla was sitting on his private plane with Lana and Vicious when Lana's cell phone rang.

She answered, "Hello?" She was quiet for a second. "Hold on." She moved the phone down. "Sir, it's our contact with news."

He motioned for the phone and she handed it to him. He greeted, "What is it?" He was silent for a while. "Paris, I know. That's what you said. And that is where Bordeaux and Sharma are hiding the processor, yes?" He grimaced. "What do you mean 'you think so'? I told you to confirm it." He leaned forward. "An educated guess is not good enough for me. I'll tell you this: if Chun-Li and her little friends hinder my plans because of your incompetence, I will burn you. Horribly. So much so that no coroner on the planet will be able to ID you." He was silent for a second longer. "Find out. Now!" He hung the phone up. He started to get a little irritated as he looked out of the window.

"Sir?" Vicious asked.

Guerrilla looked at them both. "Changes of plans. We're going to Paris to aid Kirill in handling this last bit. I don't trust that idiot to get this done, especially if the only information we have is that processor is in Paris."

"With all the money we are giving…" Lana began.

"Money doesn't cure stupidity," Guerrilla interrupted. "In most cases, it just breeds it." He looked at Vicious. "You and Kirill will find Bordeaux and Sharma. I want that processor."

Vicious nodded in agreement, "Sir."

"And Lana?"

"Yes, sir?" she replied.

"Call our newest addition. Tell her to meet us in Paris. I have a feeling we may be needing her skills sooner than expected."

* * *

Just over twelve hours later, the team landed in Paris and went to a very luxurious hotel to stay at. As they were checking in and checking out their extremely impressive rooms, the team started to feel like this part of the mission might not be so bad.

Ken whistled. "Nice digs."

"How did we afford this?" Guile asked.

"I pulled some strings," Cammy setting down her bags. She noticed that Chun-Li and Ryu were setting their bags down, as well. "Uh-uh!"

They looked up.

She pointed across the hall, "Your rooms are over there."

They looked at each other confused then back at Cammy.

"Like I said: pulled some strings. Everyone, get some rest. We'll handle this all tonight. We're too tired and jet lagged to be of any use now."

"Tell me about it," Guile agreed. "My ears are still ringing from the damn grenade."

"And I'm still aching from that tramp and damn flipping," Cammy rolled her shoulder.

Ken chuckled. "Bitter?"

"Shut up."

After a few hours of much needed sleep, food, and relaxation, Cammy started a very general search on the new encrypted laptop sent to her by Selina on Bordeaux and Sharma. It was just her, Ken, and Guile in the room with the trio figuring Ryu and Chun-Li were still wiped out and none of them would even dream about waking them.

"Anything?" Guile asked Cammy as she searched.

"Nothing outside of the ordinary," she answered. "These two are world class computer experts. They just like living here because, well, from what interviews say, they like it and can afford it."

"Can't blame 'em," Ken remarked.

"Finding them is easy, which is what I'm afraid of, but we have no choice. We have to ask them where the processor is and get them and it to a safe house."

"So, we won't bring them back here?"

"No chance. Too many people in this area and I'd rather avoid a gunfight in the lobby. If they are somehow aware we are here, they might just keep an eye on the place. Taking the doctors to a different location will, _hopefully_, throw them off. I'm stressing 'hopefully' so much, here."

"We noticed," Ken and Guile said.

"You already have a place?" Guile asked.

"Yeah. Selina set is up."

He noticed an edge to her tone. "Something the matter?"

"Maybe it's just paranoia. But outside of us, I don't know who we can trust."

"Ever had a reason to not trust her?"

"No. Just jitters, is all."

"Save the willies for when we need 'em," Ken said. "If Selina seems trustworthy, let's just stick with her for now. After all, it's better than nothing."

Cammy shrugged, "That's a good point." She closed her laptop. "Okay, I have their addresses. We need to get moving."

Guile and Ken nodded in agreement. Just then, the door to their room opened and Chun-Li and Ryu walked in, dressed and ready to go.

When Cammy saw them, she put her hand up, "Uh, where are you two going?"

"With you," Chun-Li answered. "Wherever you're going."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, we are."

"You aren't, actually."

"We are," Ryu insisted.

"No."

"Cammy…" Chun-Li began.

"Look, it isn't going to happen. Okay? Get over it."

"You two need some rest," Guile replied. "We got this."

"We've been resting all day!" Chun-Li argued.

"We can help!" Ryu declared.

"Yeah, you can but not now," Guile said.

"Remember what you guys went through two years ago?" Ken asked. "Well, then, it was just the two of you. Now, it's on us. And we got this. You guys may be dealing with the brunt of this but you don't have to do this alone."

"Truthfully? You never did."

"It's why we're here," Cammy added. "Guerrilla may have gotten our attention but, once he did, there was no way in hell we were letting you guys do this alone."

"You two got married and you shoulder each other's problems," Ken said. "That's a good thing. But you both think that you're alone together. And you're not. We came here because this is not _your_ problem. It's _ours_." He smiled. "Because that's what family does. We stick together. If one member of the family is going to war, the rest of us are in there, too. From start to finish, no matter what."

"Damn right," Guile nodded.

"Couldn't have said it better," Cammy agreed.

The married couple understood that and calmed down. They looked at each and realized that they did get caught up in their emotions; all they thought about was how Guerrilla showed up affected them and how they had to stop him. They kept forgetting the three other people who were putting their lives on the line to help stop this madman and keep them safe. They felt terrible, like they had let down their friends.

"Everyone, listen," Chun-Li said as she and Ryu looked back at them. "We… we-we just…"

"Have history with this guy," Guile finished. "We all know that and we all get it. There's no one standing here who doesn't have some kind hatred flare up with the name 'Bison' is spoken out loud."

"Yeah, but…" Ryu started.

"Forget it," Ken waved it off. "We'll get the docs. You two rest. As much as you can. Order some room service." He looked at Cammy. "We can afford that, right?"

Cammy rolled her eyes. "Yes, idiot."

Ryu smirked. "We couldn't ask for better friends. Thank you, all."

"For everything," Chun-Li said.

"Don't thank us yet," Guile said. "We haven't caught the son of a bitch."

Ken made a fist. "But we will. Speaking of that, let's get the good doctors and work on that part next, shall we?"

"We shall," Cammy nodded.

* * *

**A/N: So, the plot thickens. Who is Guerrilla's contact? Who is the newest addition? Is the team a step ahead of Guerrilla? If they are, how will the terrorist react?  
**

**I love your reviews and I appreciate them. Thank you so much for them. I know I tend to make grammatical errors. Sometimes, a lot. I try to catch all I can but it doesn't always work out. I'm glad you guys are sticking with me. That means a lot to me.  
**

**See you next time!**


	8. Chapter Seven

**A/N: Okay, guys! Sorry this took so long! It has been a hectic week and I have been real tired lately. And then this turned out to be a slightly longer than I expected. And, as a treat, I'm going to tell you guys upfront: you're going to learn who the traitor is. And it's...  
**

**Oh, come on. I couldn't make it _that_ easy!**

**I hope you guys enjoy it.  
**

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

After learning of the addresses and occupations of the doctors responsible for the processor the Red Eclipse, Cammy, Guile, and Ken went to Supméca, also known as Institut Supérieur de Mécanique, a mechanical engineering university in France, where Dr. Bordeaux and Dr. Sharma were instructors and did their research. They walked to their joint office and knocked on the door. A few minutes later, an older man with greying hair opened the door.

"Dr. Bordeaux?" Cammy asked.

"Yes?" Bordeaux replied.

"We're the ones from Interpol. I'm Cammy White." She showed her ID and badge then motioned toward her comrades, "This is Captain Guile and Ken Masters."

"'Captain'?"

"United States Air Force, sir," Guile replied. "We're performing a joint operation with MI6 and U.S. military under Interpol."

"May we come in?" Cammy asked.

"Yes, please," Bordeaux asked.

They walked inside and found another gentleman of similar age with a darker skin hue sitting at his desk. He looked up and stood up, "Hello."

"Dr. Sharma, I presume," Ken greeted.

He nodded, "Indeed."

Ken smirked, "I've _always_ wanted to say that."

Guile lightly elbowed him.

Sharma motioned toward the chairs, "Please, have a seat."

The trio had a seat in the chairs in the room while Sharma and Bordeaux sat at their respective desks.

"Can I offer anyone any tea?" Bordeaux asked.

"No, we're fine," Cammy, politely, declined. "Thank you."

"Well…" Ken began to say.

Cammy shot him a look.

"I'm fine."

Cammy looked back at the professors, "Dr. Bordeaux, Dr. Sharma, I'm assuming you know about the theft at Fenix Corporation."

Bordeaux looked very serious. "Yes. With all of the security at that facility, we were quite shocked to hear anyone would even attempt to rob them."

"Understandable."

"We heard that it was the Red Eclipse that was taken, correct?" Sharma asked.

"Yes, sir. It was taken by a terrorist group known as the H.A.T.E. Company. For what, we don't quite know yet."

"Well, Red Eclipse is very useful for worldwide communications. It can be connected to any satellite currently in orbit and they could easily communicate with people all over the world."

"And the military capabilities," Guile mentioned.

The professors looked at the captain, confused. "Pardon me?" Sharma asked.

Guile looked at him, perplexed as to why he was perplexed. "The… military capabilities. I mean… it can do that. Can't it?"

The professors seemed taken aback by that. They looked at each other somewhat confused. Sharma leaned back in his chair as he thought about that. "In theory, I supposed it could. But, for that, it would need a powerful computer processor to speak to all of those satellites at once."

Bordeaux shrugged, "The Ruby Core would work."

"I suppose it would."

"Is that the processor that we heard so much about?" Cammy asked.

"Indeed. How do you know about that?"

"Director Narang at Fenix told us about it."

"Hm. But, why would he?"

"We toured through the Mumbai Fenix facility after learning H.A.T.E. was targeting it. Mr. Narang said that the Red Eclipse was one of the many things that they could potentially take. Turns out he was right."

"Indeed but what's all this about military applications?" Bordeaux asked.

The trio looked at each other.

"You mean…" Ken started. "…that's not what it was built for?"

"No, sir," Sharma answered. "It was to vastly improve cell phone signal communications."

The trio looked at each other again. This time, slightly more alarmed.

Cammy looked back at him, "So… not for… missile defense?"

Sharma shook his head, "This is the first I have ever heard about it."

"Agreed," Bordeaux nodded.

Guile narrowed his eyes, "Umm… gentlemen… what project are you working on for Fenix?"

Sharma and Bordeaux looked at each other even more confused.

"We aren't," Bordeaux said. "Not for a while."

Cammy screwed up her face at that, "I don't…"

"We were part of the early planning stages of the Red Eclipse," Sharma explained. "We were told you were coming to see us to discuss where it would be best utilized from or launched from."

Cammy wanted to ask the primary question but couldn't get it out right away.

But Guile had to know. "And… who told you that?"

"Well, Director Narang, of course," Bordeaux answered. "Isn't he the one who sent you to speak to us?"

At that moment, all of the air was sucked out of the trio.

"In more ways than one," Cammy exhaled.

"Oh, crap…" Ken whispered.

"I guess we were looking the wrong direction as far as turncoats go," Guile whispered.

"Then why'd he tell us about Red Eclipse in the first place?"

Guile groaned. "Because Chun-Li and Ryu are dead right about Guerrilla. He _wanted_ to us come here."

"Dammit all." Cammy rubbed her forehead and wiped her hand across her face. "I owe Selina a huge apology."

"We all do."

The doctors became concerned. "Is… everything alright?" Sharma asked.

Cammy looked back at the doctor, "Dr. Sharma, everything is the exact _opposite_ of alright. Where is the Ruby Core right now?"

"Separated into three parts. It isn't finished yet. We keep part of it here at the university. It's in our testing lab. We just finished repairs on it today."

"We need to get it and pack it up."

"Excuse me?" Bordeaux asked.

"We need to get it and you two somewhere safe. You both are in grave danger."

"From who?" Sharma asked.

"Who thought you could trust. We'll explain on the way but we need to leave."

"Right now," Guile commanded.

* * *

Guerrilla, Lana, and Vicious disembarked from their private plane, which was parked in a private hangar on the outskirts of Paris.

Kirill was standing by a black car. He greeted his leader as he approached, nodding, "Sir."

"Any news?"

Kirill sighed. "We have news that Dr. Bordeaux and Dr. Sharma just received three visitors at Supméca."

Guerrilla groaned. "A little late for students looking for extra credit. Chun-Li and her friends work quickly." He paused. "Go. Grab the doctors and their processor. We need it to complete our goals."

"There… may be a slight problem."

"What?"

"Narang called again. It turns out that processor is known as the Ruby Core." He paused, leaving his mouth open. "And it's… incomplete."

Guerrilla paused, staring blankly. "What?"

"Yes, sir. He says that, uh…" Kirill became nervous about giving his leader bad news. "Well…" He cleared his throat. "It seems the Ruby Core has not been completed yet. It turns out the first round of testing revealed some… issues with the programming."

"He said it was near completion," Lana pointed out.

"It seems he was wrong. It was separated into the three parts to make all of the necessary repairs."

"Are they complete?"

"He's not sure."

Guerrilla quietly growled then gritted through his teeth, "Incompetent failure." He looked at Lana, "Tell that fool, Narang, to get here. Now!"

"Sir," Lana replied.

Guerrilla looked at Vicious, "Go with Kirill and the strike team, retrieve Sharma and Bordeaux, and any components of the Ruby Core. We will make them complete it ourselves or tell us how to."

"Sir," Vicious nodded.

* * *

Chun-Li looked over the city and found it nothing but breathtaking. She always wanted to go to Paris with Ryu, just under different circumstances. She leaned on the railing of the balcony and took in the night air. She was reminded of the times she went through because of Guerrilla during their first encounter but life was much different then than it is now. Now, she not only had Ryu at her side in this fight but for the rest of her life. And, as much as she wanted to protect Mei and Sakura, she wanted to protect Ryu as well.

Ryu walked in the room and saw her at the balcony. He walked up behind her and put his arms around her. She put her hand on his arm.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered to her. "We can trust them. They are our family, after all."

"I know…" she said. "I just… I'm worried."

"Me, too."

She stared at the city, beginning to get lost in this moment with her husband. "Do you think it's wrong for us to be here while they're out there?"

He thought about it. "I think they'd be more mad at us if we tried to go out there. We have good friends. They're always looking for us."

"They really do." She was silent for a little longer. "Remember what I asked… the night before we left for Mumbai?"

"Yeah."

She looked at him. "Can we… for just one more night, leave this to them and forget about all this?"

He nodded at her. "Whatever you want."

She turned around to fully to kiss him. After their kiss, they stopped and looked at each other.

"I want a lifetime of moments like this," she said. "With you."

"We'll get them," he said, with certainty. "I know we will."

For this moment, they allowed themselves to hope and believe that Ryu's words would be true.

* * *

After retrieving the component for the Ruby Core from the testing lab, Cammy, Ken, Guile, Sharma, and Bordeaux got in a car and headed off to the safe house. Ken was sitting in the back seat with the doctors while Guile drove and Cammy sat in the front seat; all three of the warriors were keeping their eyes open for any kind of trouble. For some reason, they knew that trouble was really close.

When they came to a stop light at an intersection, Cammy looked up and down the street. She noticed a few of the same style cars coming toward the intersection and two coming up behind them. She looked in the rearview mirror. She realized that their suspicion was well founded. "Guile."

He looked up and started assessing the situation himself. He looked behind them and grunted. "Damn."

"What is it?" Sharma asked.

Ken looked around. "I think… we're surrounded."

Cammy pulled out the Beretta M1951 she hand Selina send her and pulled the slide action back to load a bullet in the chamber. "No 'think' to it, Ken. We are." She handed a Desert Eagle to Guile.

He looked at it as she placed it on his leg. "You gave me the cannon?"

She smirked. "Figured you could use it."

"Where's mine?" Ken asked.

"Do you really want an answer to that?" Guile asked.

"Hey!"

"I thought you'd do better without a gun," Cammy said. "I know you don't have much experience with them."

Ken conceded. "Good point." He looked out of the window. "So, how do we get this started?"

Cammy looked in the backseat. "Buckle up. Everyone."

They did so.

She looked at Guile. "How fast do you like to drive, Guile?"

He smirked. "I got an engine, right? Just point me in the right direction."

Cammy looked straight ahead and narrowed her eyes. "Floor it."

That was all Guile needed to hear. He stepped on the gas pedal just as the light turned green peeled through the intersection. Sure enough, the vehicles that the group suspected was following them, indeed, sped off right after them.

Cammy looked behind them and growled. "Get us the hell out of here, Guile!"

"On it!" Guile shouted back.

The car weaved all around the traffic of downtown Paris, causing a good of destruction of public and not so public property. It took less than a minute for the police to be involved in the chase, as well. Guile weaved in and out attempted blockades by both the police and H.A.T.E., even taking to the sidewalks sometimes. Many pedestrians had to jump out of the way of the speeding vehicles, with Ken yelling apologies as they went along.

"Are you gonna do that with everyone?!" Guile asked.

"What?!" Ken shouted. "I'm trying to be nice!"

They came to freeway and that was when a few warning shots were fired at them, courtesy of H.A.T.E.; to no one's surprise, Sharma and Bordeaux ducked down immediately after the first couple of shots hit the back windshield.

"They're going to kill us!" Sharma shouted.

"You, two?" Cammy said. "No. You, they need you alive. Us?" She let the window down. "That's a bit harder to explain." She leaned out of the window and started shooting back.

To aid in her task, Guile rolled down his window and fired a few shots himself while still driving.

Ken gritted his teeth and yelled at his brother-in-law, "Can you focus on driving, ya maniac?!"

"Quit griping, soldier," Guile ordered.

Ken looked at him, confused. "You _do_ know I'm not in the Air Force, right?"

"Right now, you are."

Cammy got back in the car, "Right now you're _both_ in MI6 and _I'm_ giving orders! And my first command is shut it, _ladies_."

Ken and Guile both grumbled but, nonetheless, conceded.

The car chase went on for a few more minutes and most of the cars, police and H.A.T.E., became lost in the shuffle until one car in particular was left; it was that car's occupants that had the team concerned.

"That's Kirill," Cammy said as she reloaded. "And that looked like that guy Vicious sitting next to him."

"We gotta lose 'em," Guile said.

"Right!" Cammy started to climb back outside to shoot at them but stopped when noticed that Vicious seemed to be climbing out of the passenger window. She wanted to shoot but she was baffled by the assassin's actions. "Umm… what is he doing?" Ken turned around to look while Guile looked in the rearview mirror.

Vicious climbed on the hood of the car as Kirill sped forward, getting closer to their car.

Cammy's eyes went wide, "Oh, _hell_, _no_!"

In a fluid and seemingly effortless movement, Vicious jumped from the hood of Kirill's car to the roof of the trio's car. He dodged Cammy's initial gunshot and leaned over to driver side and tried to get a hold of the wheel of the car. Guile managed to punch him off, forcing him back on the roof. Vicious rolled over to Cammy, grabbing her wrist to keep her from shooting and began to choke her with the other hand; his close proximity to his friend prevented Guile from shooting him. Ken grunted, let his window down, moved out further, and punched Vicious in the face. Vicious let Cammy go and he and Ken scuffled with each other on the car. Guile looked around to figure out a way to end this predicament. He saw an exit ramp was coming up but that wasn't he noticed.

It was the curved edge of the dividing wall.

Guile saw his course of action and took it, not even bothering with a warning. He just aimed for the wall and gunned it. Vicious looked up and saw the concrete wall coming and scrambled, punching Ken across the cheek to free himself. The car hit the wall and it launched into the air; Vicious quickly stood up and jumped from the car and landed on Kirill's, crashing into windshield. Kirill slammed on the brakes before his car crashed into the concrete wall. Guile's stratagem did work, even if it did severely damage the car as it slammed onto the ground upon landing; regardless, they managed to leave the out of the area, leaving all of their pursuers behind.

Vicious sat up on the hood of Kirill's car, pulling a small piece of glass from his arm. He looked at Kirill with the same look the H.A.T.E. captain was giving him as a similar thought went through their minds: Guerrilla was not going to be happy.

* * *

The team made their way further down the street and realized that they were no longer being followed.

Cammy looked behind them for a while to be sure until she let out an exhale. "We lost them. That's a relief."

"Good Lord!" Bordeaux shouted as he and Sharma attempted to regain a normal pulse. "Who are you people?"

Cammy chuckled. "Really nice once you get to know us."

Ken rubbed his cheek and sucked in some air to deal with the pain. "Damn!"

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." He growled. "Now, I know why Ryu and Chun-Li had such a hard time with that guy! What's he on?"

"Doesn't matter," Guile said. "We're out of the woods."

"Let's get to the safe house," Cammy suggested. "While we have a lull in the action."

* * *

Guerrilla was reading the paper as Lana read from her tablet when Kirill and Vicious drove back into the hangar twenty minutes later. The two operatives got out of the car and walked toward their leader.

Guerrilla saw their disappointed faces and imagined what happened. After getting a full report from the two, he sighed. He stood up and began to pace. "So, they escaped with the doctors. Hmm. Distressing. But, not completely unexpected."

"What do we do now, sir?" Vicious asked.

Guerrilla stopped pacing. "We need the Ruby Core. I would imagine they have the missing parts, or some of them, at least, so Cammy will take them to retrieve the primary component." He paused. "You say that Ryu and Chun-Li were not with them."

"No, sir," Kirill answered.

Guerrilla smiled. "That… may be in our favor."

"How so, sir?" Lana asked.

He stood up. "They want to fight me. I know they do. Since my name was told to them, they have been wanting to fight me but Cammy and the others have been trying to fight this war for them."

"So, then?"

"We let them know where I am. They will come for me while Cammy arranges to get the Ruby Core where you all will take them. Alive."

"Yes, sir," Kirill nodded.

"Lana, you will go with Kirill. Oversee the operation in my stead."

"Understood, sir," Lana replied.

"And you will face Ryu and Chun-Li alone, sir?" Kirill asked.

Guerrilla chuckled. "I have done it before." He grinned wider. "But, no. I won't be alone. Vicious will come along."

The silver haired assassin nodded.

"And, with or without him, I won't be alone." He looked behind him to the person hiding in the shadows. "Will I?"

His guest answered the only way she could: putting a huge smile on her face and letting her left eye glow purple.

* * *

**A/N: And, now, you should know who the newest addition to the H.A.T.E. team is. If you don't know right off the top, just think Street Fighter IV. I hope you guys like it so far and thank you again for all of your reviews! Please, keep 'em coming! I love the feedback!**


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

The following morning, Ken and Cammy walked back to the hotel, heading for Ryu and Chun-Li's room. They were both still exhausted from their ordeal but knew that the work was a long way for over.

"Think they're up?" Ken asked Cammy as they got closer to the couple's room.

"Don't know," she answered. "But we have to, at least, keep them up abreast on what's happening."

"We could tell 'em later."

"You think they'd want to wait?"

He shrugged, conceding the point.

Cammy knocked on the door and waited for them to answer. After a few moments, she knocked again and a freshly awoken Ryu came to the door.

He rubbed his head, "Hey. What's up, guys?"

"Mornin'," Ken said.

"You both awake?" Cammy asked.

Ryu looked behind him. "Uh…" He looked back at them. "Chun-Li is still getting some sleep."

"We didn't wake her?"

"Uh… no, not really. She's pretty exhausted."

"How come?"

"Yeah," Ken said. "You guys were here all night so why…" He, slowly, figured out why she would be so tired. "Oh."

Ryu rubbed the back of his head. His cheeks turned a slight shade of red.

Slowly but surely, Cammy got the message, as well, and she started to blush, "Oh!"

Ken started snickering and it was impossible to stop wipe the smile off of his face. "Well, alright then!"

Cammy cleared her throat. "Y-Yes… we-well… uh…" She looked away, "Let's talk in our room, then. As to not wake… um… Chun-Li." They went into the other room.

"So, what's going on?" Ryu asked. "What happened last night?"

"We got the doctors," Ken answered.

"That's good news. Where's Guile?"

"Sitting on them," Cammy answered. "Making sure they stay safe."

"Safe from what?"

"We had a bit of a… run-in with H.A.T.E. last night," Ken answered.

Ryu turned serious. "What happened?"

Cammy and Ken went on to explain everything they learned and the craziness of the light.

Ryu shook his head, "So, this Narang is with H.A.T.E.?"

"In some way," Cammy exhaled. "Who knows how."

"So, what's our next move?"

"We get all of the components for the Ruby Core and we go from there."

"That's all we've got?"

"It's as good a plan as any," Ken said.

"My question is what Guerrilla's next move will be," Cammy folded her arms. "Because you know he has to make one."

"Oh, yeah, he does," Ryu said. "And, if you slowed him down at all, he won't be happy." He paused. "And someone will have to pay for it."

* * *

Having just arrived in Paris, Hari Narang headed straight for his hotel at the opposite end of town from where the team was staying. He had walked into his room and set his bags down; when he looked up and saw Lana, Kirill, Vicious, and Guerrilla in his room.

Narang swallowed hard. "Umm… Mr. Guerrilla, Mr. Kirill."

"I'm disappointed in you, Narang," Guerrilla stood up. "Very disappointed."

Narang started to back up. He thought of yelling for help but knew it would do no good. After all, he would have to explain what a group of terrorists were doing in his room. But, he already knew much about Kirill and enough about Guerrilla to be afraid; they probably had their own staff working at this hotel.

"Um… why is that?" Narang asked, fully knowing the reason why.

Guerrilla advanced toward him, casually, "Because you told me about your amazing invention in the Red Eclipse," he began to circle the director. "And you swore to me its completion in two years." He stopped. "That was four years ago."

Narang gulped.

Guerrilla started to pace him again. "Now, granted, for two years, I was, otherwise, preoccupied. What, with prison and all. But, now, that I am free… the work should be done."

"Yes… yes, of course, but… complications arose and…"

"I don't care about complications. I care about results." He stopped in front of him. "Where are yours?"

Narang didn't have answer.

"Hm," Guerrilla nodded and circled again. "So… Kirill goes through the trouble of eliminating the old director, putting you in his place, giving you an obscene amount of money, especially in hindsight…" He stopped behind the director. "…and you. Have. Nothing."

Narang found it hard to breathe as fear began to take hold of him. Lana and Kirill found his fear amusing while Vicious did not care either way.

In a flash, Guerrilla spun Narang around and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him closer, "The only reason you are still alive is because I may have some use for you. However, fail me again and I'll let Vicious have all the fun he wants. And, don't let his calm demeanor fool you, he enjoys violence. Thoroughly. He enjoys the pain and suffering he can cause even more."

Vicious said nothing but his eyes confirmed that this was true.

Narang did his best to get a grip on himself. "I… I-I-I will not fail you… s-sir."

Guerrilla smiled. "Glad to hear it." He let him go, causing Narang to fall to the ground. "Now, then… we're going to need that Ruby Core. Do you know where it is?"

"There-there is a missing a piece, not counting the one Sharma and Bordeaux have already. The main component that houses all of the circuitry is at Fenix here in Paris."

"Then that's where we will go. I'm sure Cammy will learn of its location soon."

"Should we track them to find the other piece, sir?" Kirill asked.

Guerrilla thought about that. He looked at the Fenix Director. "Can the Core piece be retrieved by anyone?"

"No, sir," Narang answered. "With such an important piece of equipment, only Fenix staff have access. Even I can't get to it because it's not my project."

"Then they will have to bring Sharma and Bordeaux with them to get it." Guerrilla smiled. "This is the opportunity we have been waiting for." He looked at his underlings. "Kirill, you will wait until Cammy and the others arrive at Fenix and take them all. Lana will accompany you."

"Yes, sir," Kirill said.

"Vicious?"

"Sir?"

"We have… a far more pressing issue to deal with." He looked at his assistant, "To that end, Lana, I need you to call our new friend and work up a little trail for me."

* * *

In their hotel room, Cammy started up her laptop and established a connection with Selina in London while Ken got some rest and Ryu and Chun-Li continued to relax. Something told them all that the action would begin again very soon.

Once Selina answered the call, the relief on her face was abundantly evident. "_Thank God, Chief! I hadn't heard from at all last night, I was about to order a squad to Paris._"

Cammy smirked. "Thanks, Selina." She looked down. "And… I owe you an apology."

"_What for?_"

"We found out that Hari Narang was Guerrilla's informant. He even led us to Paris."

"_The Director from Fenix? Why?_"

"I dunno. Can you check?"

"_Give me a second._" Selina hit a few keys on her computer. Her eyes went wide. "_Umm… Chief?_"

"Yeah?"

"_He's in Paris._"

Cammy's face went blank. "What?"

"_He's in Paris, Mum. His plane landed about three hours ago._"

"Where is he? I'm gonna kill 'im."

"_Okay, I don't think I can tell you that if _that's_ what you're going to do. You know, laws and all._"

"Oh, I won't actually kill him!" Cammy thought about that. "Maybe."

"_That doesn't make me feel better._"

"Shut it." Cammy paused. "If he's here, Guerrilla probably is, too. That means something could be going wrong with their plan."

"_So, what, now?_"

"Good question. For now, keep monitoring Narang and look at everything. Also, keep an eye out for Guerrilla or any H.A.T.E. operatives."

"_You got it, Chief._"

* * *

A few hours later, closer to the evening, the team gathered at the safe house, outside of the city, where Sharma and Bordeaux were hidden.

"So, Narang's here," Guile said. "Good. I can wring his neck myself."

"I don't think Selina wants us to kill him," Cammy replied. "I think it's the one time we have ever disagreed."

"So, what's the plan?" Ken asked.

"We find Narang, bring him in, and question him."

"And?" Ryu asked.

"We get the rest of the Ruby Core before Guerrilla can."

"So, two virtually impossible missions where the odds are stacked against us," Ken surmised. "Sounds about right to me."

Cammy's phone rang. She answered it, "Hello?"

"_Chief, I have a location on Guerilla,_" Selina said.

"Where?"

"_One of the fancy neighborhoods in Paris recently had a property purchase under one of the aliases H.A.T.E. uses to conduct business and we have intel that Guerrilla is in the city._"

Cammy sighed. "Challenging us again."

"_Do you think he has the piece of the Core that's missing?_"

"Don't know. But we have to try and get to it before he does. And where is Narang?"

"_Fenix Corporation, Paris building._"

Cammy paused. "Hold on." She lowered the phone and looked at the others. "He _is_ here."

The team all knew that she meant Guerrilla.

She looked at Bordeaux and Sharma. "Where is the last piece of the Ruby Core?"

"It's in the lab in Fenix," Bordeaux answered.

"In the experimental products room," Sharma added. "You need our access to get in."

"Can Narang get it?" Ken asked.

"Actually, no. Since it's incomplete, only those working on the project can access it and remove it. That would be the two of us."

"Then we gotta chance to go after it. And Narang."

Chun-Li looked at Ryu, who nodded. "While we go after Guerrilla."

Cammy already knew that that was coming. She spoke in a warning tone, "Guys…"

"No, Cammy. We need to find him. We need to take him down."

Cammy hated this plan, if one could even call it that. So did Ken and Guile.

"I know you're all worried," Ryu spoke up. "But we have to do this. If all of us go after the processor, that's all of us in one spot, making it that much easy for Guerrilla to trap us."

"Splitting up makes it easy, too," Guile pointed out.

"So, does staying here. Let's face it: we're cornered either way."

Guile growled, "Dammit all."

"Divide and conquer," Cammy exhaled. "I hate this."

"We don't have a choice," Chun-Li insisted.

"And the last piece of the Core?" Guile asked.

"Is at my house," Bordeaux said.

"We can get that last," Cammy declared. "We have work to do now." She got back on the phone, "Selina."

"_Yes, Mum?_"

She looked at her friends. "We're gonna be busy."

Selina fell silent.

"We're going after them. _All_ of them."

"_Understood, Chief. Let me know if you need anything._"

Cammy looked at her friends, who gave her a silent confirmation through nodding. "To make sure that the families are safe. If things go wrong."

That hit Selina in the gut. "_Y… yes, Mum._"

"And Selina?"

"_Yes?_"

"Thank you, from all of us. You were nothing but a good friend and loyal. I'm sorry that I ever questioned that."

"_Don't be. I would have, too._" She paused. "_Stay safe, Mum. Please._"

"I make no promises but I will try."

Selina giggled. "_Right. I'll text you that address._" She fell silent. "_See you later._"

"See you," Cammy replied. She hung the phone up. She looked at her friends. "You know this is gonna go bad, right?"

"No surprise there," Ken answered.

"Ain't like we got much choice, though," Guile added.

"But we do," Ryu spoke up. Everyone looked at him. "We have a choice and a chance to end this." He tensed up. "We have a chance to, at least, try."

Chun-Li stood up. "And we're going to take it."

Ken gave a thumbs up, "And not miss."

Cammy shook her head. "Insane. All of you. I guess this is what it's like to have family." She paused. "Not bad." She sighed. "Ryu, Chun-Li, you guys take down Guerrilla." She looked at Ken and Guile, "We'll take get piece of the Ruby Core at Fenix." She looked at Sharma and Bordeaux, "You two will need to come with us. Hopefully, we can get Narang, as well."

"Sounds good to me," Ken said. "Either way, we get to bust some heads!"

Ryu smirked. "Hell, yes."

Chun-Li smiled, hearing her husband talk like that.

Guile chuckled and stood up. "Alright, then… let's get this party started."

* * *

While the others went to the Fenix Corporation, Chun-Li and Ryu went to address that Guerrilla was seen at, provided by Selina. They entered the mansion and walked carefully through the lavish home. As they proceeded through the house, they soon heard music playing from down the hall. Beethoven's _Moonlight Sonata_, as far as Chun-Li could tell. They walked into a large library and found Guerrilla sitting at a beautiful black grand piano. Much to their surprise, sitting on the piano, clad in purple and white as always was a very familiar face.

"Juri…" Chun-Li gritted. She was surprised to see her but anger was far more prevalent at this point.

"Well, well, well!" Juri hopped down and leaned on the piano. "You were telling the truth."

"I told you," Guerrilla never looked up nor stopped playing.

The couple started to, carefully, move around the room.

"Did they really get married?" Juri asked.

"Indeed," the terrorist replied. "Vega and Balrog tried to interrupt the reception. Sagat defeated them both."

"Have those two fallen off or what?"

"I think it speaks more to Sagat's skill than theirs."

Ryu and Chun-Li didn't much care that they were being ignored. They were going to settle this, all the same.

Juri smiled. "I think they're ready to fight."

Guerrilla kept playing. "I know. Have fun."

Juri entered a fighting stance.

Chun-Li stared at her then looked at her husband, motioning him to go after Guerrilla.

Guerrilla smiled. "Vicious."

Out of nowhere, Vicious kicked Ryu across the face. Ryu got his bearings, caught Vicious's incoming punch, and threw him across the room. Vicious got to his feet, ready to fight. So was Ryu.

While her husband went to work, Chun-Li looked at both of her nemeses. "I'm going to give you one chance, Juri," she declared. "Walk away."

Juri just laughed and entered a battle stance. "I think not."

"Fine by me."

Guerrilla kept playing and declared, "Let the fight begin."

* * *

**A/N: So, as Guerrilla pretty much announced, the next chapter will be another fight chapter. And, for those you thinking I'm coming to an end of the story, think again! We are just past the halfway point, more or less. I say that because this story turned out to be more expansive since I started it and I have all of you to thank for it. Your feedback made me want to make it grander. And I hope it is meeting your expectations thus far. Thanks for sticking with it! The next chapter is a Paris showdown!**

**Don't miss this!**


	10. Chapter Nine

**A/N: Hey, guys! Sorry this took so long! Been SUPER hectic lately and my allergies have me feeling a mess! I hope this makes up for it! A bit of a long chapter here, I'll admit. But I hope you guys like it! Enjoy! **

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

Cammy, Guile, and Ken guided Sharma and Bordeaux to the Fenix building and entered it through the service way of the entrance. The Fenix building was a large office building located in downtown Paris that went up a hundred stories. All the team could think about was how many surprises could wait them on which random floor; if not all of them. Guile stepped out of the service area first, opening the door and looking around. When he saw no one around, they all proceeded up the office building, finding an elevator that would take them to the 70th Floor to retrieve the Ruby Core component. When they found one, they all rode it, becoming nervous about what they would find. The elevator stopped and the 70th and they all got out.

Nothing was there.

Just bare hallways, vacant offices, and all the lights were off. Not a soul around. In fact, nothing happened to them the entire elevator ride. No one else even got on or off. In fact, they hadn't seen anyone since they found the elevators.

Cammy looked around. "I'm gonna hate myself in the morning for saying this but… it's quiet. Too quiet."

"It is only 10:00 here, right?" Ken asked. "Where is everybody?"

"This… screams set-up," Guile pointed out.

Cammy narrowed her eyes and looked up at the ceiling. She looked back at her allies, "Ken, Guile, take Sharma and Bordeaux to get the Ruby Core."

Everyone looked at her, curiously.

"And just where the hell are you going?" Guile asked.

"To get Narang." She got back on the elevator.

Guile paused for a second before calling after her, "Cammy."

She looked at him.

"This is all a trap."

She lowered her face a little. She hit the "UP" button. "Then let's not keep 'em waiting." The elevator doors closed.

* * *

Ryu punched Vicious across the face then kneed him in the gut. Vicious absorbed the blow but retaliated with a kick of his own followed by an uppercut. They traded blows until their fight spilled back into the hallway where Vicious showed his ability to not let his environment hinder him. As they fought, Vicious wove himself around the objects in the hallway like he had memorized where they were beforehand. Ryu was only so much impressed by this as he had more than enough of Guerrilla's newest servant. Ryu dodged a kick from Vicious and punched him in the face. This caused Vicious to go for another series of punches but Ryu dodged or blocked them all and kicked him in the side. He grabbed Vicious by the collar of his coat and threw him against a wall but held on and threw against him the opposite wall and back before picking him up and throwing him down the hall.

Vicious growled and looked up at his enemy.

Ryu just entered another stance. "C'mon."

* * *

Chun-Li caught Juri's kick and tossed her against a bookshelf. She charged at her and tried kicking her but missed, taking out three shelves and knocking books everywhere. Juri punched Chun-Li in the side and kicked her in the thigh. Chun-Li swung her arm wide enough to force Juri back; Juri flipped backward, jumping over a couch before landing on the floor. They squared off for a second with the couch in between them.

Juri smirked, "Hmph!" Her eye glowed.

Chun-Li gasped.

Juri kicked the couch at her with ease but Chun-Li put a considerable amount of ki into her leg performed one kick that obliterated the couch in an easy strike.

The movement impressed Juri, as it did Guerrilla as he glanced over his shoulder.

Chun-Li held her stance. "Got anything else?"

* * *

Guile, Ken, Sharma, and Bordeaux walked to the room where Ruby Core was. They approached the door where the doctors used their key cards to enter the room. The found the Ruby Core, a laptop sized computer device, sitting on table with wires connected to it.

Ken looked at it. "Huh. Doesn't seem like much to look at."

"Why thank you," Sharma said, sarcastically.

"Oh… uh… sorry."

The doctors got to work unhooking the Core and, within a couple of minutes, had it a small silver briefcase, ready to go.

"Alright," Guile said. "Let's find Cammy and get the hell outta here." He looked behind him and saw shadows moving in the hallway. "Or… get ready for a fight." He motioned for everyone to get down.

They saw Ludge and Kelly walked down the hallway.

"Who are they?" Sharma asked.

"Hide under the table, gentlemen," Guile instructed in a whisper. "Ken, we got work to do."

Ken hit his fist in his palm, "Fine by me."

* * *

Cammy arrived at the top floor of the building and walked down another darkened hallway; she steeled herself and proceeded on. She kept going until she came to a conference room with glass planes and a chair turned around, making seeing if anyone was in it nearly impossible even with the clear glass. That sent off warnings in her head right away. She drew her service weapon, took a deep breath, and slowly opened the door. She kept the gun aimed at the turned around chair. She advanced slowly then rushed toward the chair, hurrying to the front of it.

Only to have Kirill's fist nearly collide with her face, causing her to stumble back until she hit the wall.

She gritted her teeth. The trap had been sprung.

She managed to lock Kirill's arm between her shoulder and her head and tried to fire her gun, missing a few shots before one finally grazed his cheek. Kirill managed to knock the gun out of her hands and kick her back. He went to punch her but Cammy grabbed his arm and tossed him against the wall, sending him through it.

She thought about going for her gun but she heard footsteps approach. She hopped up on to top of the table and performed a Cannon Drill through the glass panes to take out the H.A.T.E. soldiers that appeared. After they were down, she exhaled. "Damn!" She saw that Kirill was just getting to his feet and decided that she it would be better to make an escape. She rushed for the elevator to get to the others.

* * *

Ludge walked to the door for the Ruby Core and prepared to open it so he and Kelly could attack Guile and Ken. But, soon as he touched it, it was tackled against him courtesy of Guile charging into it. While he held Ludge in place, Ken jumped past him and kicked Kelly across the face.

"I don't usually like fighting women," Ken said to her. "But considering the circumstances…"

"Oh," Kelly smirked. "Don't worry about it." She jumped and punched him across the cheek.

* * *

Cammy got off the elevator at the 70th floor and began to attack the two H.A.T.E. soldiers standing guard. She grabbed the assault rifle of one, immediately taking him out by throwing the gun back in his face. She kicked in the gun then face of the other soldier in a speed that would make Chun-Li proud, knocking him out as well. She didn't wait to see if they stayed down as she took off down the hall. She found her two friends fighting off Kelly and Ludge. She saw Ken had just taken a kick from Kelly, ran behind the blonde woman, wrapped her arms Kelly's waist, and lifted her up before tossing her back down the hallway.

"Cammy?" Ken asked.

"Narang's not here!" Cammy shouted. "It's a set-up! We need to go!"

"Right!" Ken ran back in the room, retrieved the doctors and took off for the elevators.

"Stairs!" Cammy yelled.

Ken stopped them and took them both down the opposite end of the hallway. Cammy kicked the trying to recover Kelly across the face and Guile punched Ludge hard enough to put him down for now and they took off after Ken and the doctors. Ken rounded a corner to a stairwell and dealt with a pair H.A.T.E. soldiers armed with Taser batons trying to take him down. He managed to knock them both out, giving Guile and Cammy time to catch up.

As they descended down the stairs, Ken couldn't help but ask, "If Narang isn't here, then where the hell is he?"

"Doesn't matter!" Cammy said. "This was all meant to get us here. Probably why Guerrilla let his location leak!"

"But why?" Guile asked. "What's the point of this?"

"I dunno! But for now we need to get the hell outta here, find Chun-Li and Ryu, and bugger out of Paris!"

The group got down to the service area, making it to a parking garage where they left their car only to find themselves surrounded by H.A.T.E. Company soldiers armed with machine guns, led by Lana with Narang in tow.

Cammy narrowed her eyes, "Bollocks…"

They looked to see Kirill, Ludge, and Kelly were coming up behind them, leading to the fighters to grit their teeth.

"You should surrender now," Lana advised. "I'd hate to have all of you riddled with bullets. That's not what our leader wants."

Guile looked at all of the guns pointed at them. "Looks like we don't have much of a choice."

"It would seem not." Lana looked at her soldiers, "Take them."

Soldiers walked to the three fighters and hit them with Tasers. They all cried out in pain after the initial strikes, causing them fall to their knees. They were struck again and again, causing them to grit their teeth and want to fight. Guile even tried to get up and fight back.

"Uh, uh, uh!" Lana held her finger up. She pointed at the soldiers holding Sharma and Bordeaux at gunpoint.

Guile just gritted his teeth as a few more strikes hit him until he was stomach first on the ground. He looked to see that Ken and Cammy were already down and weren't getting back up. A pair of boots obstructed his vision of them and he looked to see that it was Kirill blocking his view.

Kirill smirked, "Hmph. Americans." He lifted the stun baton high and hit Guile across the face, knocking him out.

* * *

Chun-Li kicked Juri out of a window and jumped out after. Juri recovered and kicked Chun-Li across the face. Chun-Li stumbled back and was struck by Juri's fist to her gut. Chun-Li hit Juri with an open palm, directly to her face, and followed with kick across the Feng Shui user's face, causing Juri to back off to shake off the effects of the kick. Chun-Li took a breather, as well, when suddenly a ki blast came out of the wall of the mansion.

Chun-Li turned around and saw Ryu flip backwards, jumping out of the house, and dodged a flying kick from Vicious. The silver haired fighter spun around and went for another kick but Ryu caught his leg and punched him in the gut then punched him across the face. He lifted Vicious up again and slammed him hard on the ground.

Chun-Li smirked at her husband's skill.

"Wow," Juri said as she stood up, causing Chun-Li to scowl and refocus on her. "Someone would think that you two would have something to prove?"

Chun-Li charged at her but was stopped in her tracks when a wave of electricity hit her like a hammer. She screamed out loud as she sank to her knees.

Ryu saw her go down and saw that Guerrilla hit her with an electric rifle-like weapon. With a roar, Ryu charged at Guerrilla but was stopped by a flying knee to his back by Vicious. Ryu started to get up but Guerrilla hit him with the same weapon he hit Chun-Li with. Ryu fell to his knees, gritting his teeth as the pain coursed through him.

Guerrilla chuckled. "Once more with feeling?"

Ryu tried to stand but Guerrilla just shot him again, the force from the blast throwing Ryu against ground with the fighter landing hard on his back.

"Ryu!" Chun-Li cried out, struggling to stand. Just as she got to her feet, Guerrilla shot her again, forcing her to the ground. She started shaking from the blast and her breathing came out shakily.

"No!" Ryu tried to move toward her. He managed to slowly start to move.

Guerrilla shot him again. He chuckled, "Oh, my! This is starting to become the most fun I've ever had!"

Chun-Li saw Ryu was trying to get to her and did her best to meet him halfway. They knew that they weren't going to win this fight. They realized that Guerrilla made it so that they never could. They crawled to each other in between shots from their nemesis, crying out after each bolt hit them, until they were close enough to take hold of each other's hand. They were shaking from the pain and this did nothing to lessen it. But, like in all other instances since this first started, they knew they could hold on to each other, even in the darkest of hours. They didn't come any darker than right now.

Guerrilla approached and stood over them, "Such love. Quite the inspiration, you two are."

They growled at him.

He held up his rifle, "Do you like it? It's an experimental weapon that the FBI has been working on. They're looking for a useful bullet alternative but one more effective than a stand Taser. Not so useful as they don't know how to keep the charge concurrent." He smirked. "I had the same problem so I just made do. I only needed it to stun you both. I have what I came for." He handed the gun to Vicious and walked away. Two soldiers came up and hit them both across the face with Taser baton, rendering them unconscious.

* * *

At their hangar, H.A.T.E. gathered together with their prized prisoners, all but Sharma and Bordeaux were unconscious and chained up.

"Your stratagem was a success, sir," Lana said.

Guerrilla smiled and looked at them all. "Wasn't it, though?"

"What do want with us?" Sharma asked.

"With you, Dr. Sharma, that should be obvious. You and Bordeaux are going to complete the Ruby Core and install it into the Red Eclipse." He looked at Lana, "Did you retrieve the final piece of the Core?"

"Yes, sir," Lana answered.

"And what will you use it for?" Bordeaux asked.

"What else? World domination. Once your work is complete, I will have total control over military satellites around the globe. Every nation on this planet will agree to my demands."

Sharma and Bordeaux sat silently as they knew had no choice but to go along with this.

"But, first things first: I have a far more personal matter to see to. To that end…" Guerrilla looked at Ryu and Chun-Li. "It's time I truly make these two suffer." He looked at his soldiers. "Lock up the rest and take them to the home base. But leave Ryu to me. And ready my private plane." He looked at the silver haired assassin, "Come along, Vicious." He looked back at Ryu. "We're taking a little trip."

* * *

In a rural area of India, Sagat was still being pursued by H.A.T.E. and he had no way of knowing where Ryu and Chun-Li are or if they were even okay. To escape his pursuers, he ran into a house and closed the door behind him. He looked out of the window and saw a couple of cars pulling up outside. He growled. This was about to be his last stand. He looked to see a woman standing and staring at him, stunned.

"Are you alone?" he asked her.

She nodded.

He groaned. "Well, small blessings, I guess." He walked toward her. "You need to hide some place safe. There are men coming for me. I apologize for any damage that may be done to your home."

She ran to a nearby stove and ducked behind it.

Sagat backed up from the door and brought his fists up. He heard people starting to approach but then he heard a commotion outside, a lot of shouting and grunting. Gunfire came a few seconds later but then the sound of blows landing echoed through the street along with the sound of electricity and fire crackling could be heard, as well.

Sagat stood confounded as to what could cause that.

Suddenly, one of his assailants came crashing through the window of the house, landing unconscious on the ground.

Sagat stared at the unconscious goon but refocused when he heard the door opening.

In walked the last person in the world he was expecting to be there to help him. She was still wearing that business suit and her yellow sunglasses but her red hair in the peculiar style was always Crimson Viper's distinguishing feature.

"God, you think with all the money they spend on ammo, they could get men who shoot somewhat straight," Viper criticized.

"Viper!" Sagat said, surprised.

"Hello, Sagat," she smiled.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to rescue you. A 'thank you' would be nice."

He chuckled. "Thank you."

She nodded. She looked at the lady hiding. "You can come out now. Everything is fine and the police are on their way to arrest these men and you will be compensated for your damages."

The lady nodded.

Viper looked back at Sagat. "So, do you want to be a hero?"

"How so?" Sagat asked.

"These men work for Guerrilla's terrorist group called H.A.T.E. Guerrilla has been going after Chun-Li, Ryu, and the others and for all I know, he may have them already."

"So, what are we going to do?"

"Go after Guerrilla, bring H.A.T.E. down, and, if need be, rescue the others. So, are you in?"

Sagat's jaw clenched. "Hmph! Hell, yes."

* * *

Ryu groaned as he started to come to. He had a splitting headache but he was able to move. He found that he was on a couch, a rather comfortable one at that. Wherever he was, he felt that it was moving. He looked out of the small window and realized he was on an airplane. A personal jet, if he had to guess. He saw it was somewhere around dawn or dusk wherever he was. But, considering where he was last, where he could possibly be now left him more than worried.

"Doing okay, over there?"

Ryu immediately recognized Guerrilla's voice. He looked to see the tyrant sitting in one of the easy chairs in the cabin with his massive arms crossed. He turned to see that Vicious was sitting in the other chair with his fingers intertwined. He gritted his teeth but his head was still fuzzy. "Where… where am I?"

"We're on a plane," Guerrilla answered.

Ryu looked around. "Where's Chun-Li? Where's my wife?! Where are my friends?! Where are…"

Vicious started to react.

Guerrilla put his hand up, stopping him. He looked back at his enemy, "Calm down, Ryu. You're going to have a heart attack." He smiled. "And you're going to need all of your strength."

"Where are they?!"

"Not here. But in my company."

Ryu started to understand. "You have them locked down."

"Exactly."

Ryu was seething but maintained his composure. He sat up straight. "What do you want?"

"Now we're getting somewhere." He leaned forward. "Do you know that some people say you're the strongest fighter in the world?"

"I don't care."

"I know you don't. Not my point. My point is that… I want you prove it."

"Prove it? How?"

"I want you to fight someone."

"Who?"

Guerrilla smiled. "How often do you keep that Dark Hadou of yours at bay?"

"It's not easy now, I'll tell you that."

"Oooh. Impressive threat. I didn't know you had it in you."

Ryu was close to growling.

"You're not in the mood for fun? Too bad. Anyway, I want you to prove how strong you are." He turned serious. "Or I will end your American friend, your British friend, your best friend, then your wife. In exactly that order."

Ryu knew he meant every word. He wasn't going to argue. "Who am I fighting?"

Guerrilla smiled. "Someone from your past. Someone you know very well."

"Who, dammit!"

Guerrilla stopped, letting the tension build. Of course, when he spoke the name, a different tension entered. One of dread. One of terror. One of darkness. The only kind that this man could inflict by the very mention of his name.

"Akuma."

* * *

**A/N: Let's give that a moment to sink in, shall we?  
**

**Aaaaaaand, now, you are seeing Guerrilla's plan for revenge. So, to answer your next question, yes.**

**Akuma. Is. Coming.**

**I actually had a chuckle when 89niners-best-team-ever mentioned him in the last review. Also, C. Viper has entered the game and she is after H.A.T.E., as well, and she has Sagat along for the ride. What will happen next? Stay tuned and find out! Thanks in advance for the reviews!**


	11. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

"Akuma," Ryu breathed out.

"Indeed," Guerrilla said. "I know I don't have to go into any further detail about him."

Just thinking about his nemesis made the world warrior exhale. "No… you don't." A quick vision of the demon flew into his mind. He quickly shut his eyes and sighed. He already knew what this was: Guerrilla wanted him to die. "How did you even find him?"

"Wasn't easy. It took about 12 men of… somewhat strength for him to kill to confirm where he was."

"You _what?_"

"Oh, please, Ryu. Spare me any righteous speeches. The men I sent aren't worth the breath it would take to say their names. They were scoundrels; evil men who performed evil deeds. They were nothing but cannon fodder and that was the best role they could assume. But they accomplished their mission, nonetheless." He smirked. "If you really care that much, then, don't make their sacrifice worthless."

Ryu growled.

"I want you to go to where Akuma is and defeat him… or your precious Chun-Li will die."

"If you hurt her in any way…"

"I'm already hurting her," Guerilla interrupted. "I'm sending you to fight a warrior that even makes your skin crawl, I'm hurting her now. And that's the point."

Ryu stared at him with hatred.

"But I am not completely without mercy for you, Ryu. There was one other you fought so hard for two years ago. We're flying to Los Angeles right now for you to see your…" He chuckled. "…daughter."

Ryu's eyes went wide. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MEI?!"

Guerrilla was shocked by the reaction. But, slowly, smiled then laughed a hearty, diabolical laugh. "That reaction was amazing!"

"Guerrilla!" He started to move, which caused Vicious to react as well.

But Guerrilla put his hands up, stopping both men, "Calm down, Ryu! She's fine!"

Ryu did settle down. Vicious sat back, interlocking his fingers again.

Guerrilla smiled, letting out a few more chuckles. "My God, why wasn't I recording that? Oh, the fun. I could watch that for hours and not get bored." He let out a few more laughs then sighed, regaining his composure. "I'm sending you to Los Angeles to say good-bye to your adopted daughter."

The world warrior quietly seethed.

Guerrilla gave an arrogant grin. "I can't believe they all mean that much to you."

Ryu just stared at him then whispered, "You wouldn't understand."

"Perhaps not but it hardly matters. You have to be on a plane the morning after I leave you in L.A., nonstop for your native Japan. Your ticket is already punched. If you don't arrive there at the correct time, I kill Guile. If you continue to stall, Cammy is next." He stopped. "Am I making myself clear?"

Ryu wanted to punch him right now, almost more than anything in the world. "Crystal."

"Splendid."

"Where is Akuma?"

"Mt. Meakan. In Hokkaido."

Ryu bowed his head, "Fine."

Guerrilla smiled. "Chin up, Ryu. I'm only sending you to fight a man who waits for the day he can kill you. It's not the end of the world."

Guerrilla laughed while Ryu just let his mind dwell on what was coming next.

* * *

That night, Ryu was standing outside of Ken and Eliza's home. After Guerrilla's plane landed in an airplane hangar in the middle of nowhere, Ryu had to make a three hour trip to get to house of his best friend. He stared at the house and realized what he was really doing here. He was about to say good-bye to his adopted daughter, a little girl he grew to love in a way he never knew he could. He was saying good-bye because, in fighting Akuma, he faced a very high probability of death. But he had to do it; for Mei, for Chun-Li, for everyone.

He exhaled and walked up to the door. He knocked on it and Eliza answered.

"Ryu?" she asked.

He nodded, "Hi, Eliza."

She smiled until she realized he had a forlorn expression on his face. Even worse than that was that he was standing there alone. "What happened?"

He looked around, trying to figure out the right words to say. He sighed. "A lot. Where's everyone else?"

She opened the door, "Come on in."

Eliza got Julia and Sakura, leaving Mel and Mei to play upstairs, for now, while they talked. Sitting at the dining room table, Ryu informed the ladies of what had happened so far. After his recounting of the tale, the three ladies just sat back.

"And you have to fight Akuma?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah," Ryu nodded.

Eliza exhaled, "Ken's had nightmares about that man. He almost can't talk about them."

"It's a mutual feeling for both of us."

"And Guile?" Julia asked.

"He's gonna be okay, Julia. I promise." He sighed. "This is all about me."

Julia kicked herself. She realized what Ryu must've thought she meant by her question. "Ryu, uh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you think…"

"Julia. I understand. Guile's your husband. He's one of the best friends I have. He's only in this mess because of me." He looked at them all. "In fact… all of you are in this mess because of me. I'm sorry. Regardless of how all of this turns out, I hope one day you all can forgive me."

Eliza put her hand on top of Ryu's.

He looked up at her.

"Ken would move heaven and Earth for me and Mel. The only other person he would try anywhere near that hard for is you. You're family, Ryu. And not just to Ken. But to me, too."

He smirked.

"Guile lives to help other people," Julia said. She got up and put her hand on Ryu's shoulder. "And you and Chun-Li are two people who he knows that he only needs to help in the direst of situations. He wanted to be there for you."

Sakura smirked. "And I know you're not apologizing to me! I run into danger without you!"

"Despite my best intentions," Ryu said.

"What can I say? I love trouble."

"And how."

"The point is, Ryu," Eliza said, "you didn't drag anyone into this. We all wanted in. When Guile and Ken told us what was happening, we told him to get to you guys as fast as he could. Because family sticks together. We help each other. No matter what."

Ryu smiled. "I'm starting to understand that."

"PAPA RYU!" Mei screamed, excitedly.

Everyone turned in time to see the young girl dash and Ryu wrap her arms around his torso as far as they would go.

She was beaming. "I missed you!"

Ryu chuckled and smiled. "I missed you, too, Mei. Have you been good?"

"I think so. No one yelled at me like that time me and Big Sis Sakura broke that window."

Sakura just looked away as Ryu laughed.

"Mei, where's Mel?" Eliza asked.

"He said he wanted juice," Mei answered. "I was coming to see if there was any."

"Oh, I can get you both some in a minute."

"Okay." Mei let Ryu go and looked around, "Where's Mommy?"

That punched Ryu right in the gut. But he resolved that he had to tell her. She needed to know the truth. "Um… your…" But, right now, looking in this little girl's eyes, it was the hardest thing in the world to do as it could very well break this little girl's heart. Ryu was sure that defeat at Akuma's hands was nowhere near as painful. "Mommy's not here, Mei."

"Where is she?"

He closed his eyes and bowed his head a bit. He looked back at her. "The… uh… Guerrilla took her away."

Mei's eyes went wide, "What?!"

"Mei, Mei…"

"You're gonna save her, right?! Right, Papa Ryu?! You can save her! You beat him before! You saved Mommy before! You can do it again! I know you can!"

He realized something: she wasn't just saying this to make him feel better. She really believed it. And, for some reason, he was starting to believe it. "Yeah… yeah, Mei, I can. I will."

"See? No one's stronger than you, Papa Ryu!"

He chuckled. "We'll see."

"What do you mean?"

"Guerrilla wants me to fight someone else. To save Mommy and our friends, I need to go and fight someone else. And, he's very strong, Mei."

She shook her head. "Doesn't matter. I know you can win."

He smiled. "Thank you, Mei." He couldn't help but smile at her but his heart was beginning to ache knowing that he had to say his potential farewells to her. Just before, he saw no reason to put it off. He looked at the ladies, "Hey, do you mind if we…" he motioned to little girl, "talk alone?"

"Oh, no!" Eliza said. "Please! Um, need us to leave or…"

"No, we can talk outside." He stood up, "C'mon, Mei."

"Okay!" She walked out with him.

After they were outside, Sakura smirked. "He's a pretty cool dad."

* * *

Ryu took Mei outside and sat on the stoop. She looked all around, staring up at the sky. "It's a pretty night."

He looked up and smirked. "It is."

She looked at her father figure and noticed that he looked a little off. "Papa Ryu, is something wrong?"

He paused, just staring at her. "It's been… weird, huh?"

She titled her head, a little confused by what he meant.

"I mean… me and your mom…" He paused. "And… now this."

She smiled. "It's not weird, Mr. Ryu. Not you and Mom, I mean."

He looked at her, surprised. "It's not?"

"Nope! Mom smiles a lot now. Like a whole lot. It's cool. And you're great, Papa Ryu!"

"Thank you."

"And Big Sis Sakura is the coolest person ever!"

He chuckled. "She can be."

Mei held her smile for a second longer before she frowned and looked straight ahead. "Papa Ryu?"

He looked back at her.

"Is… the man you have to fight really strong?"

"He's one of the strongest I've ever met."

"Is he stronger than you?"

Ryu let his eyes fall to the ground between them. That was the key question of the time. He really didn't know. He looked at the little girl again and gave a small shrug, "Maybe."

"Can… can you beat him?"

"I'm going to do everything I can, Mei. I promise." He put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to save your mom. I promise."

"But what about you?"

"What do you mean?"

She looked at the ground. "Are you coming back?" She was afraid of the question and the answer.

"I'll do my best."

She looked up at him.

"I promise."

She suddenly hugged him. "Please come back… Please."

He hugged her back.

She finally said something that Chun-Li told her she could say whenever she wanted to. "I love you, Daddy."

His eyes went wide. His voice caught. His heartbeat almost stopped entirely. He couldn't believe it. "Daddy" was like a foreign word. He didn't grow up with one, save Gouken, and, before Chun-Li, he never thought he'd be one. He wasn't even sure Mei saw him that way. But, just like with Chun-Li, it was the thing he didn't even know he was missing until he had it. He hugged her back, resting his chin on her head. "I love you, too, Mei." He pulled her closer. "I am so proud of you." He let her go and looked at her, "No matter what happens… always be a good girl. Always watch out for your mom. Okay?"

"Yes, sir."

He patted her head, making her smile. "You're the toughest little girl in the world. And I love you so much."

"I love you, too… umm…" She became shy. "Is it okay if I call you 'Daddy'?"

"Nothing would make me happier."

She smiled.

* * *

After their talk, Mei asked if she could stay up with Ryu and watching movies. No one had a reason, or the lack of a heart, to tell her no. That night came with no sleep for Ryu, even after Mei fell asleep leaning against watching the last movie. He just watched the sleeping girl, all of the thoughts going to her and Chun-Li. Ryu finally could understand how Gouken saw him; his child in every way but birth. All Ryu wanted was to protect Mei and Chun-Li; to do so, he had to go through Akuma.

'_So be it,_' he thought to himself. '_I swore I would protect them. And, if this is how I am forced to, then I will do so._' He leaned down and kissed the top of the little girl's head. "I love you, Mei," he whispered. "I am proud… that I got to be your father."

* * *

The next morning, Ryu walked through the airport on the way to the plane that would take him to Japan, mentally readying himself for the fight that was coming and doing his best to put his last view of his Mei out of his mind. They were all on the porch of the Masters' house and she hugged him so tight that even he was impressed with how strong he was. He got in the car with Eliza as she drove him to the airport and he saw how Mei was doing her best not to cry. It tore his heart to pieces to see her like that but he knew he had to do this or else her heart would be destroyed if he failed.

He looked up at the screen with the flight information as he walked past it, seeing the time for the flight to Japan. He found this whole thing to be ironically funny as he had been wanting to visit home. But not like this.

"Do you ever not have a war face?"

Ryu stopped in his tracks as he, immediately, recognized Crimson Viper's voice. He looked behind him to see her disguised as a flight attendant with a blonde wig.

"What are you doing here?" Ryu asked.

"I came to get you," Viper answered. "I know where Guerrilla is keeping everyone. We need to go take him down."

"How did you find them?"

"Do you really think something like the Red Eclipse can just disappear off the map and we have no idea where to find it?"

He stared at her, more questions about her coming to his mind. "Who do you work for, Viper?"

"Never you mind. We need to go."

"I can't. He wants me to fight Akuma. So, that's where I'm going."

Viper's eyes went wide at that name. "He wants you to what? That's insane. Forget it! We have people to save! Let's go."

"No. If I leave, he'll know. I have to be in Japan on this flight or he will start killing everyone."

She stopped, looking around. "But… if you fight Akuma…"

"I know, Viper. I know."

They stopped as the gravity of this situation started to take over again.

He looked up at the clock. His plane would leave in twenty minutes. "I have to go."

"You really love Chun-Li," she said. "Don't you?"

He took offense to her question. "Why? Are you going to call me weak for it?"

"Why would I insult a man for being a man?"

"So, why ask?"

"Because I want to see if this who you've really become. And how far you will really go."

He paused. "Yeah, I do."

"And Mei?"

"She's like a daughter to me. So, even if I don't survive… at least, Chun-Li and Mei will have each other."

She nodded her head, understandingly. "Admirable."

"You can't help me here, Viper. But you can help me somewhere else."

"How?"

"Save Chun-Li, Ken, Guile, and Cammy. Save my wife and my family. Take Guerrilla out. I know it's gonna be hard to do it, alone, especially since he has that Vicious guy and Juri but…"

"Who told you I was alone?"

He looked at her, quizzically.

"I'm waltzing up to H.A.T.E. without a welcoming party. And after all… where do you think Sagat has been all this time?"

He smiled. "You got to him before they did."

"Actually, they were on his trail long before I found him." She shrugged. "I just rescued him when I could." She stared at him. "And I'll save your wife and friends, too."

"Thank you, Viper."

"It's my honor, Ryu. Now, you better come back alive. I don't want to see Chun-Li mad over her husband being hurt. I've seen her mad after a punch from me. I do _not_ want to see that amped to 11."

He smiled. "She does have a temper."

"I'm sure you don't mind."

"Not all the time."

She turned to leave, "Good luck and come back alive."

He nodded.

She started to walk away.

"Hey!"

She stopped and looked at him.

"Don't worry about what happens to me. Get them out… and take him down."

She nodded and walked off.

Ryu allowed himself a moment of relief. He knew that, at the very least, Chun-Li and the others would be okay. Viper wasn't one to break her word. He looked back down the terminal and continued on toward his plane.

* * *

Viper got in her private plane, throwing off her wig, and Sagat looked around.

"Where's Ryu?" he asked.

"Not coming," she answered. "Guerrilla sent him on errand." She looked toward the cockpit. "Take off, right now. Tell the squad to meet us at the rendezvous point."

"Yes, ma'am," the pilot answered.

"What errand?" Sagat asked.

Viper sighed. "Find and kill Akuma."

Sagat's eye grew wide, "That's a damn suicide mission!"

"Exactly."

He growled. "Dammit all."

"We have no choice. We have to go. He asked us to save Chun-Li and the others."

"No problem there."

She pulled out her phone and dialed, "There is still preparations to be made. I think we'll be attacking around the time Ryu gets to Akuma."

"No time save him, then."

"I have a team that's going to follow him."

"Viper…"

"I said 'follow,' not interfere. I won't endanger the others like that. Besides… I think Ryu can handle himself." She stopped before completing the call. "But… what do you think?"

He thought about how to answer that question. "I've only seen Akuma a handful of times. Fought him a couple." He thought about those defeats. "Lost pretty bad. But he let me live. But I'm not stupid; he could've killed me whenever he wanted. I don't know if anyone can stand up to that man." He paused for a while. "But, if anyone could find a way, it's Ryu."

"Good enough for me." She hit the "SEND" button and waited for an answer. "Yes. Selina Shaw, please."

"Who?"

She lowered the phone, "Cammy's MI6 partner." She got back on the phone. "Hello? Ms. Shaw? You don't know me but I'm an ally of Cammy's. And we need your help to save her. How fast can you be ready to get to Hawaii?"

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I'll admit: writing this chapter got to me on an emotional level. The Ryu and Mei conversation is a first of its kind for me. I don't think I've done anything quite like that before. I hope you guys liked it. Let me know if you did or didn't, please! I need the feedback.  
**

**We're almost to the last stages of the story, people. And the final fights are about to happen. And Ryu will come face to face with Akuma in the next chapter.**

**Don't miss this!**


	12. Chapter Eleven

**A/N: You may have noticed some updated chapter numbers. That is to say, I shifted them from the numerical form to word form. I just decided to do that. It just felt right, for some reason. Nothing else has changed, save that. Thank you! Enjoy!  
**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

Chun-Li woke up first, feeling the cold steel of the floor where she was. She looked up and saw there were red, horizontal bars of light guarding her door. She knew a prison cell when she saw one. She groaned and got to her feet, walking up to the bars. She touched them and was immediately electrified. She drew her hand back, rubbing it. She growled. She gasped. "Ryu?" She waited for a response. "Ryu?!"

She heard someone groan.

"Ryu?"

"Nope," Guile groaned as he came to. Chun-Li saw he was in the cell diagonal from hers. "Just a guy who's only ever fought him to a draw once and beat him in a non-tournament setting once."

In the cell next to Guile and across from Chun-Li, Cammy moaned as she stood up, "Better than my win-loss record of him again."

"I got you both beat," Ken grumbled in the cell next to Chun-Li.

"Shut up," Guile and Cammy said, annoyed.

Ken walked up to his cell. He touched the bars and pulled his hand back once he was zapped, "Ow!" He rubbed his hand. "Oh, this-this is just great."

"Where the hell are we?" Guile asked.

"Would you really like to know?" Guerrilla's voice echoed through the corridor.

The rest of the group ran to the edge of their respective cells, looking to see Guerrilla, Lana, Kirill, and Vicious walk up to the group.

Ken gritted his teeth, "You son of a…"

"Where's Ryu?" Cammy asked.

Guerrilla smiled. "None of you care about where you are? Only your friend? Such devotion."

"Just tell us where he is, you bastard!"

He folded his arms behind his back and began to pace. He looked at each of them, getting looks of hatred from them all. He paused in between all of the cells so his captives could see them. "Where do you think that Ryu is?"

"How should we know, ya damned psychopath?" Guile asked.

"If he is not here, where could he be?"

Cammy thought about the question then growled when she came to a conclusion. "Where did you send him?!"

Guerrilla smiled at her. "You are smarter than everyone here, Cammy. So, listen and put the pieces together for everyone." He walked to Chun-Li's cell. "What do you think Ryu would do for you? For Mei?"

Chun-Li's eyes went wide and screamed, "What did you do to my DAUGHTER?!"

He chuckled. "Your husband asked that question and my answer is the same: her, nothing. It's what I'm doing to you and him."

"Where is Ryu?" Ken asked.

"I sent him on a hunt."

Chun-Li looked at him confused. "A hunt?"

"What do you mean 'hunt'?" Guile asked.

Guerrilla looked at him. "I need him to find someone and fight them. And kill them."

"Ryu wouldn't kill anyone for you!" Ken shouted.

"Me? Of course not. But all of you, absolutely."

"Whatever crime you make him commit, Guerrilla, we _will_ find a way to absolve him," Cammy declared. "I swear to you that."

Guerrilla chuckled. "Please. Don't be so dramatic. Do you think I would send him to kill some random politician or something like that? Give me some credit. I would not waste his talent or this glorious opportunity on something so trivial. Sending Ryu to commit a political assassination would bear me no fruit at all. I can have anyone do that. No, I sent him on a far more difficult errand."

This left them all confused.

"Against a far more difficult opponent."

Ken was at his limit with this nonsense. "Who, damn you!"

Guerilla smiled. Like he did with Ryu, he let the tension build. He knew it was driving them all mad. He finally looked at Chun-Li and declared the name of the fighter he sent Ryu against. "Akuma."

All the air was sucked out of the group in that moment. But no one found it harder to accept than Chun-Li.

"Wh…" Chun-Li swallowed. "What?"

"Akuma," Guerrilla repeated. "You know? The one man that even your husband fears."

"You sent… you sent Ryu… after that… that monster?"

"Of course."

Chun-Li was moving past fear for her husband clear over to anger as she began seething, her breath coming out shakily. "YOU SON OF A…!" She charged at him but the energy bars threw her back.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Ken shouted, colliding and being thrown from the bars, as well. He scrambled back to his feet, "Do you hear me?! I'm gonna get outta here and KILL YOU!"

"WHERE IS HE?!" Guile shouted. "WHERE DID YOU SEND HIM?!"

"You bleedin' bastard!" Cammy shouted.

"Oh, screw this!" Ken started charging his ki. "Hadouken!" He threw the energy ball at the bars but they merely absorbed the energy. Ken stood, listless, but his anger rushed back. "Bastard!"

"Be patient, Ken," Guerrilla said. "You want to die so badly? I'll be back after confirmation that Ryu has found Akuma. And been killed by him."

"He can beat him!" Chun-Li shouted.

Guerrilla looked at her, surprised, and smiled. He walked over to her. "For you, your husband fought me. And, I'll admit, he defeated me. This was before you were married." He folded his arms. "But now… for you, your daughter, and his little friends, he is going to fight a man he has never beaten and a man who will have no qualms about killing him. And, Ryu must kill him or I start killing all of you. I told him that it is a fight to the death. Someone… _must_ die! And, Ryu… he still his own code of honor. He may very well fight restricted, not got all out. While some would say Akuma has a code of his own, that code does not necessarily involve letting people live." He chuckled. "Ask Bison." He stared at Chun-Li, "And how long has Akuma been waiting…" He thought about that, "literally, _waiting_… for Ryu?"

Chun-Li's eyes went wide as she started to put all of this together.

"You must come to terms with the reality: Ryu. Can't. Win. He will die trying to protect you." He put on a mockingly sweet voice, "Because he loves you so."

Chun-Li knew he was telling the truth. Ryu had changed his entire life for her and would do anything to protect her. That was just more thing she loved about him. And she knew that, if it was for her, he would fight Akuma and die fighting him if he had to. An image of Ryu dying at Akuma's hands flashed in her mind. She found it hard to breathe. All of this was just too much for her to bear and she just sank to her knees.

"You're full of crap, Guerrilla!" Guile shouted, snapping the tension. Even Chun-Li looked up. "Ryu can win! He will! He'd do anything for her!"

"Oh, I know, Captain," Guerrilla said, turning toward Guile. "That's why he's going to die."

"No, he won't. Ryu's a nice guy until he's cornered. He keeps it under wraps because he's a warrior, because of his code. But, back him into that corner, he becomes something more. Something you should pray to _God_ you never see!"

"Damn right!" Ken agreed.

"And, when he wins and kicks Akuma's ass, we're gonna get outta here. And, then? I'm gonna find you… and rip you apart."

Kirill scoffed at the notion.

Guile shifted his gaze to Kirill. "On second thought," he looked at Guerrilla, "I'll let Chun-Li kick your ass while I beat the ever living hell out of your little pal here."

Guerilla just laughed. "Impressive threat, Captain. Only time will tell if you're right."

"Tick tock, you son of a bitch."

"I've always liked you Americans. So much spirit." The H.A.T.E. leader and his entourage left.

The team just all sat back while all of their thoughts came went to the one world warrior who was now fighting to keep them all alive. Chun-Li just sat down, leaning her back against the wall, wishing her husband could come back alive. She closed her eyes, a tear falling down her cheek, as she silently whispered the name of her love, "Ryu…"

* * *

Ryu woke up, suddenly, sucking in air sharply. He looked around the cabin and saw that nothing was out of the ordinary but he felt like his heart was trying to jump out of his chest. He pressed his hand to his forehead, leaning over and managing to calm himself down. All of this was stressing him out. Guerrilla. Akuma. Both names were the source of some of his greatest nightmares. Akuma was the man who took his past, Guerrilla was the constant threat to his future. With all of that, he was amazed he could get any sleep but, with everything that happened, he needed it to be ready for what was coming next.

He thought about his encounter with Crimson Viper at the airport. He had no idea why he trusted her so much but he knew that he had very little choice. With all of her secrets and whoever she worked for, she was his only chance to make sure that Chun-Li and the others are okay. Regardless of whether she held true to her word or not, her appearance didn't change what he had to do. Guerrilla made his point very clear: face Akuma or the others would die.

A ding echoed in the cabin. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE. WE WILL BE MAKING OUR FINAL APPROACH TO OZORA, JAPAN. THANK YOU…"

Ryu calmed down. The flight was faster than he realized or he had been asleep longer than he thought. Either way, the next step of his journey entered his mind. It would take him an hour or so by car to get to Mount Meakan. He was less than two hours away from the battle of his entire life. More accurately, it was the battle for his entire life. In that instant, the memories of Chun-Li and Mei came back to his mind. He remembered all the happy memories they had together. It even made him smirk. He knew that's what he was fighting for.

Letting his smirk fade, he looked out of the window and sighed. "Almost time."

* * *

A couple of hours later found Ken kept rhythmically punching the wall of his cell, trying to come up with a plan.

It was wearing on Guile's nerves. He was rubbing his right temple, "Mind not doing that?"

"What, you got something better to do?" Ken asked.

"No, but that's getting annoying."

"Just leave him be, Guile," Cammy said. "We need to come up with a plan."

"Who can think with him doing that?"

"Leave it!"

After a few more punches, Ken stopped and sat down. He looked at the opposite wall since it blocked him from his next door neighbor, Chun-Li. "Hey. Chun-Li."

She looked up. "What?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"It better not be stupid, Ken. I'm not in the mood."

"It's not. I promise."

She sighed. "Okay."

"Your wedding day."

She looked over her shoulder at the wall.

"How did it feel knowing you got that lunkhead for the rest of your life?" His question was to fill the silence but it was also to help her refocus and, possibly even, feel better.

She reflected on that day, staring straight ahead. She smiled. "It was like a dream. If it wasn't for waking up next to him every day… in our house, in our bed… I wouldn't believe it. Never thought I would get married and I didn't care to. It always seemed like men were just too much trouble to bother with."

"Sad thing is she's not exactly wrong," Guile said, jokingly and in all seriousness at the same time.

Chun-Li let out a quick chuckle. "But… Ryu… he's not like any other man."

"No kidding."

"Funny thing about that guy," Cammy spoke up, "no matter how many times I've faced him in tournaments, how many times I fought him, or how many times I encounter him," she shook her head, "I always leave with more respect for him than I did before."

Guile chuckled. "I know what you mean. I feel the same way. And… him being married to you," he said to Chun-Li, "I didn't know he could pull off being a married man and a step-father but… damned, if he didn't surprise me there."

"Yeah…" Chun-Li said, reminiscing.

"There's a question I've always wanted to ask," Cammy said. "How is he as a father?"

"Ha!" Ken exclaimed. "Lightning round."

Chun-Li thought about Cammy's question and she couldn't stop herself from smiling. "You wouldn't think a guy like him… would be such a great father. You know? I thought I would have to constantly come to his rescue when it came to Mei." She looked toward the hallway, "I mean… don't get me wrong, there are times when I have to step in and he is so relieved but…" She thought about several instances when she saw Mei so very happy all because of Ryu. She just smiled. "He's… an amazing father."

Cammy saw her smile and grinned herself. "Sounds like ol' Ryu is putting his candidacy for father of the year." She looked at the cells behind her. "You two better put in some work."

Ken and Guile laughed at that.

Even Chun-Li allowed herself a laugh. She started to think about her family; her husband and her daughter. She had all she wanted. All she needed. She was happy. Every day, she woke up happy. Like anyone's life, the days had their hardships but they were worth it. All of it was worth it. But Guerrilla was taking all of that from her. "I won't let him," she whispered, "I'm not letting that bastard take him from me." She started getting angry and spoke louder, "I am _not_ going to stand for this! I won't!"

Cammy looked up, "Chun-Li?"

"Ryu's my husband! And Guerrilla's trying to kill him. I won't let him get away with that!" She stood up. "I am going to get out of here if it kills me!" She gathered her ki to prepare a Kikosho.

"Whoa!" Ken shouted as he felt her energy gather. "These bars just absorb our ki! You can't…"

"Like hell I can't!" She started charging her ki even more. "I'm going to save him this time. He's not fighting any more battles for me! He did it before! I won't let him do it again! I'm going to save him! If it takes my last breath!"

Suddenly, the energy of the bars on her cell faded and disappeared. The same happened to the other's cells.

Cammy stepped out first, making sure they were free. As the others also walked to the edge of their cells, checking them as well, she looked at Chun-Li. "Did you do that?"

"No…" Chun-Li looked at her hands, having already let this ki fade, "I-I was ready to blast them to kingdom come but…"

"No need for such drastic action," a voice said in the hallway. "You'll need the energy." The four exited to see Crimson Viper standing there with a device they could only assume disabled their cells.

"Viper!" Chun-Li said, shocked.

"What are you doing here?!" Ken asked.

"Dropping off a package," Viper pointed to Sagat as he rounded the corner.

"Sagat?!" Chun-Li said, happily.

"And picking one up."

"What one?" Guile asked.

"The man known as Guerrilla."

"What for?" Cammy asked.

"I have… _several_ interested parties who want him brought in. His crimes are actually quite numerous. It's requested he be brought in alive. But some are flexible on that definition."

"He sent Ryu after Akuma," Ken said.

"Yes, I know."

"You know?"

"And what did you do about it?" Guile asked. "Just let him walk off to a death sentence?"

"Easy, Captain," Viper answered. "I did what he asked me. I came to save all of you."

"You talked to him?" Chun-Li asked, surprised. "Where was he? Was he okay?"

"Yes. He was fine when I saw him. That was just before he boarded the plane to go back to Japan. And he told me, above all else, to get the rest of you out of here."

Nothing about that was surprising. Ryu probably knew that if he didn't go to fight Akuma, Guerrilla would know and the group of them would be in danger. More than anything, he was trying to protect them.

Chun-Li knew, more to the point, he trying to protect her and Mei. She looked up, "We are _not_ leaving here without Guerrilla. Dead or alive."

"Chun-Li…" Viper said. "I never had any intention of doing that."

* * *

Ryu arrived at Mt. Meakan and began to look all around for his enemy. He was dressed in his tradition attire; Eliza had a set of it at their house that Ken kept around, just in case. The scene actually seemed peaceful but Ryu knew that nothing short of all-out war was about to happen here.

As he looked to and fro, Ryu felt the strong force approaching him. The power was so great that it started to veil the entire area in fog, despite it being a cloudless, sunny day. It was force with a power he was afraid to tap into, the Dark Hadou. And the man who commanded it was nothing short of inhuman.

Ryu looked through the mist and saw him.

Red hair with portion of it tied up, sticking out above his head. A muscular frame that would almost make Sagat look standard in comparison. Black gi. Prayer beads around his neck, taken from the man he killed. And, though Ryu couldn't see it, there was a kanji for 'Heaven' on his back of gi and branded to his back. The most dangerous, possibly most powerful man on the planet. His name was, once, Gouki but the world now knew him another name.

"Akuma," Ryu breathed out.

"Ryu," Akuma replied with a voice so deep that could shake the ground. He stopped a few of yards from him. "Why are you here?"

"Why else would I look for you?" He pulled down his glove.

Akuma narrowed his eyes. "So… you're finally ready?"

Ryu tightened his headband. "We're about to find out."

"What brought about this decision?"

"Let's just say…" Ryu entered a fighting stance. "I have more to fight for than I ever have in my life."

Akuma just stared at him. "Why are you _really_ here?"

"I have something to protect."

Akuma sensed that something was weighing on his adversary far more than this battle. He didn't want to fight him like that. "Pointless. You aren't ready. I won't fight you." He turned and proceeded to walk away.

More than anything else, that kicked Ryu's anger to another level. "DON'T YOU _DARE_ TURN YOUR BACK ON ME, AKUMA!"

Akuma stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"You will _never_ understand why I am here! Why I'm doing this! But I have to fight you! I have everything on the line with this!"

Akuma stood in silence before he, slowly, turned around. "Everything?"

Ryu started to calm down, "Yes."

Akuma took a step toward him. "So… your life is on the line?"

"In more ways than you know. Than you could understand."

Akuma searched his adversary's face for the reason. "Tell me why. Or I will leave."

"For my wife, Chun-Li."

Akuma narrowed his eyes as remembered the warrior. "Chun-Li."

"And others. My family, my friends…" He paused. "My daughter." He looked at him. "For everyone. Everyone I care about. For everything I hold dear in this world, I have to do this." He sighed. "No matter the cost."

Akuma could hear it in his voice. Ryu had a lot on the line. More to the point, he had something to fight for. And, maybe, that was enough to force Ryu to fight as hard as he needed to transcend to the place where he belonged. Then, if he arrived at that place and Akuma could defeat him, he would become the one true master. This, more than other time, could be the very opportunity Akuma was looking for. "Very well. I shall grant you this request." He entered a battle stance. "I hope you're ready. Ryu."

Ryu entered a fighting stance, "So am I, Akuma." He tightened his fists. "So… am… I."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I wrote this and even I just felt a chill go down my spine.**

**Guys, I really have to thank all of you. I know the story isn't done yet and I am going to thank you all at the end but I just gotta thank you guys right now. If you all only knew how much you matter to me and keep me writing and inspire me, I really mean it. Every review, every favorite, and every follow, gives me another reason to sit down and type away. You make me want to make this story even better than I had planned. You guys are forcing me to write better and I cannot thank you enough for it. Thank you so much!**

**So, the next chapters is, you guessed it, a fight chapter! Oh, but don't get too down, the next couple of chapters are fight chapters! This story is reaching its climax and, I promise you all, it will be worth the wait! Please, stick with me!**

**The final battles are just about to begin! Be here next time!**


	13. Chapter Twelve

**A/N: Sorry, guys! I really didn't mean to take so long! I got really busy. And, also, sorry. This is not necessarily the fight chapter, either. Sorry about that. But it is still a good one and the next chapter, I swear, is full of battles. Anywho, enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

Ryu and Akuma stood in a faceoff with each other; Akuma didn't mind waiting while Ryu eliminated his last restriction. Ryu did away with his last mental block; for all he had and cared about, it was time to begin this war. And end it.

Ryu charged in and threw a punch, causing Akuma to move out of the way. Ryu blocked a kick from Akuma and a follow up punch. Ryu went on the attack, throwing all the limbs at him he could logically throw. During one punch, Akuma caught Ryu's arm, and threw Ryu against the ground. Akuma raised his arm to punch Ryu but Ryu kicked him over head to force him away; Ryu scrambled to his feet. Akuma rushed in and threw punch after punch, catching Ryu on the jaw once, but Ryu simple reacted with a kick and knocked Akuma back. Ryu jumped and came down with a kick but Akuma avoided it and ran in a sweeping kick of his own that Ryu avoided by jumping back, flipping backward, and landing in crouched position with his fists up. He got back to his feet and got ready for another charge.

* * *

Crimson Viper, Chun-Li, and the others were all quietly making their way through the facility, following Viper's lead.

"Where are we, Viper?" Cammy asked.

"Honolulu," Viper answered.

Ken stopped. "He beats us, knocks us out, and takes us to tropical paradise but puts underground where we can't enjoy it?" He let out a frustrated sigh, "That's just _sick_."

"Why hasn't Guerrilla sent any guards or sounded the alarm?" Cammy asked.

"I created a feedback loop of the prison area for now," Viper answered. "We're waiting until all units are in place to attack."

"He has Dr. Bordeaux and Dr. Sharma."

"Yeah, I know. We have a team waiting to get them."

"Did they complete the Ruby Core?"

Viper sighed. "Yes. The Red Eclipse should be operational any minute."

"What's Guerrilla up to?" Guile asked. "What's he using it for?"

"He's going to turn the Red Eclipse into a weapon to enslave the entire civilized world. With that weapon, he can rain down attacks, anywhere, anytime. No one will have any way of stopping him."

Chun-Li narrowed her eyes. "We're not going to let that happen."

"No, we are not. We have a limited time to act and move. Guerrilla has arranged to have the UN meeting interrupted with a feed in order to make his demands."

"So, let's get 'im!" Ken said.

"We will. All units are almost in place." She checked her wrist computer, looking at the signal from her forces. "Eight more minutes and we should be able to strike."

"Why so long?"

"We're aware of Guerrilla's track record. We only have one chance to do this. We have to do it right."

"You got that right," Chun-Li agreed.

* * *

Guerrilla stood on the balcony of the control room with Juri, Kirill, Lana, Vicious, Kelly, Ludge, and Narang as their workers continued to organize the systems for the Red Eclipse and prepared to hack in to the United Nations meeting. While the crews worked on readying the Red Eclipse for its initial attack, the main screens on the wall were observing the UN meeting.

Guerrilla looked as all of his plans came together and smirked. "Lovely."

"We are just about ready, sir," Lana said.

"And Ryu?"

Lana looked at her tablet. "Satellite over the area has confirmed it: the battle has begun, sir. Ryu and Akuma are fighting on Mount Meakan right now."

Guerrilla clicked his tongue. "Shame. Poor lad." He exhaled, "He won't be around to see me take control of the world. Oh, well. _C'est la vie_." He walked toward a nearby easy chair with television cameras aimed at it. He took his seat and smiled. "Is everything ready?"

"Yes, sir," one of the camera people said.

"Very good." He sat back, interlocking his fingers. "Let us begin."

The red light turned on.

On the main monitor, the UN leaders were clearly surprised as they looked and saw Guerrilla appear on their own screens.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the United Nations," Guerrilla smirked, smugly. "Greetings. I apologize to interrupt your meeting but I thought we could take this moment to have a little chat."

"_Who the hell are you?_" a representative from France asked.

"Oh, excuse me, _monsieur_, I haven't properly introduced myself. My name is Guerrilla. And I'm your new leader."

The UN occupants laughed.

Guerrilla even scoffed. "I know that you may find that unbelievable. Which is why I planned a demonstration." He motioned for his techs shift the monitors view to a military base in the Nevada desert. "I decided to make an example. Be thankful that I decided to not hit any people. For now." He gave a nod and, seconds later, a powered laser beam soared from space down to Earth and crashed into the ground two miles away from the base, sparing the lives of the occupants of the base but catching them severely off guard.

The crowd at the UN stood, hushed and in fear.

Guerrilla smiled. "Ah! I see that I now have your undivided attention. Splendid! Now, let's talk about how we are going to about organizing my control of the world."

* * *

Viper checked her computer as they carefully walked over to the door to the control room, where she and Cammy took out two of the guards quickly and silently. They drug the unconscious soldiers out of way and pulled them around the corner.

After they lined up next to the door, Viper checked her computer one more time. "Ten more seconds." She looked at the others. "Everyone ready?"

They all nodded.

Viper brought her wrist up and spoke into her communicator. "We are a go."

* * *

Guerrilla looked at his first notecard, "First… we…"

An explosion rocked the facility. The doors on both ends of the control room blew open and commandos poured in from the left hand side while Viper and the others came in from the right. All of the soldiers in the control room began to focus on the commandos coming in, the fighters used that to their advantage to start taking out a few H.A.T.E. soldiers.

Guerrilla silently seethed as this spectacle as he slowly stood up. He looked at his team. "We're leaving. Ludge, Kelly, get Bordeaux and Sharma. They come with us. We may still salvage this mess."

"Sir," they both nodded.

"The rest of us will head for the jet." They started to leave out of the other door.

Cammy saw Guerrilla and his group leave and shouted, "They're getting away!"

"We're goin' after them!" Viper shouted. "Come on! All units, dismantle all vehicles, bottleneck Guerrilla and his crew but you leave them to us!"

* * *

Guerrilla walked with a purpose down the hallway. "Lana."

"Sir?" Lana asked.

"Make the call."

She narrowed her eyes.

"Give us the leverage over Ken and Guile. Maybe that will slow them down."

* * *

At Eliza's house, Sakura was sitting on the sofa looking out of the window, staring intently, while Julia kept Mei and Mel occupied. Eliza was cooking dinner when she noticed Sakura's far off gaze. Figuring she was just worrying, Eliza took a break, went over, and sat down next to Sakura.

"Sakura?" Eliza asked. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just… looking."

"On the lookout for everyone? 'Cause they'll be back, you know."

"Yeah, I know."

"So, why the gazing?"

She shrugged. "Oh, just… that car that's been going by here for the last few hours hasn't moved in a while. I think it's been by here the last couple of days, but I'm not sure."

Eliza looked out of the window. "Which car?"

She motioned toward her right, the opposite direction of her gaze. It was parked down the street, next to the curb. "Black one. Like, three guys in it. All wearing dark sunglasses."

Eliza started to worry. She wanted to look but she knew better. If they saw her staring, they'd all be in immediate danger, and not the possible danger they were already in. "Do you think…"

"Yeah, I do. They drove by around, like, noon. And have been coming by every hour since then. They came back at, like, 6:30 and haven't moved."

That meant they sat there for 45 minutes, just watching them. Eliza tried to stay calm but was panicking in her head. "Okay, okay…" She was trying to regain control of her breathing and finally managed to do so. "What should we do?"

Sakura looked at her and looked down at her lap, revealing that to Eliza she had her gloves and headband tucked right near her. "You leave it to me."

Eliza's eyes went wide, "Sakura, no! You can't!"

"Hey! Ryu, Chun-Li, and everyone else are fighting to keep this family safe. It's my turn to do the same."

"But you're family, too."

She smirked. "Nah. I'm just… the random annoying girl who lives the down the street and invites herself over to dinner."

Eliza was a little hurt that's all Sakura thought of herself as. "No, you're not."

"Thanks, Eliza. One way or another, though: it's time to get in the game." She got up and headed towards the back of the house.

Eliza stood up, trying to do so calmly and for the most part succeeding. "Where are you going?"

Sakura turned and smiled. "To go do more than be a student. And to be a good big sister." She started getting her gear together as she moved toward the back door.

Eliza took a few steps toward the young woman, "Sakura!"

Sakura stopped and looked at her, sliding her gloves on.

"I don't care what anyone says or what you think: you _are_ family."

Sakura stopped to consider that. She shrugged, putting on her headband. "Maybe." She tightened the headband. "But, I don't think I've earned it yet."

"You don't earn being in a family. You just are."

"Yeah, maybe. But, either way… time to prove I belong here." She ran out of the back door.

Eliza just sighed, prayed that everyone would be coming home safe.

* * *

Sakura moved around the house, carefully jumping over the neighbor's fence. She jumped the adjoining fence to the next house's yard and peered around the corner to see the car still watching the house. She looked around and found a loose brick from the occupants of the house laying down a new barbeque pit.

She picked the brick up and scoffed, tossing it up and down in her hand, "Well… here goes nothing." She walked around the corner of the house and lined up the shot and hurled the brick at the windshield of the car with deadly accuracy. It smashed right into windshield, nearly shattering it to pieces.

"YES!" Sakura made a triumphant fist.

She saw that her targets staring at her. Hate was written all over their faces.

"Aw, crap…" Sakura took off running. Despite virtually no windshield, the H.A.T.E. operatives sped off after the young girl.

* * *

The world warriors were attacking soldiers left and right and they made it up to the balcony where Guerrilla and his party escaped. As they fought through a few soldiers, Viper had a communication come through, "What is it?" She was silent for a few seconds. "Got it!" She looked at the others, "Two of them went toward Sharma and Bordeaux. Identified as Kelly and Ludge."

Cammy narrowed her eyes once she heard Kelly's name. "I got 'em."

"You can't take them both!"

"I'll go with her," Sagat said. "Ludge is that big guy right?"

"Yes," Viper answered.

"He's gonna pay for interrupting my drink."

The entered the hallway where Guerrilla and his party escaped to. Viper pointed to a door on the left hand side that would lead to the way that Ludge and Kelly went, explained to Cammy and Sagat where they went and they chased after them.

Cammy and Sagat ran through the corridors, punching out any H.A.T.E. soldiers that got in their way. They entered a hallway where Ludge and Kelly were just recovering Sharma and Bordeaux.

Cammy took notice of a host of other people in prison cells, albeit with more standard security than where she and others were held. She looked back at Kelly. "Make this easy on yourself, little girl. Walk away."

Kelly smirked. "I don't really recall this going in your favor, last time, lady. So… I'll take my chances."

Cammy tightened her fist, "Your hospital bill. I tried to warn you." She looked briefly at Sagat, "That guy beat you?"

Sagat scoffed as he stared down Ludge. "No, he just got lucky."

"Don't let it happen a second time."

"It won't."

Kelly motioned for Ludge to throwing the doctors back in their cell. He did so and the four warriors prepared to lock up with one another.

* * *

Guerrilla and his crew came to the basement room and Lana gave him a progress report. "They aren't everywhere, sir," she explained. "But they have a good portion of the building covered."

"We have to take the long way, then," Guerrilla said. He grumbled, "How did they find us?"

"They may have had a failsafe inside of the Red Eclipse," Lana answered. "A tracker of some kind."

"Narang was supposed to know about such things." Guerrilla huffed. "Remind me to kill him."

"Sir."

They were almost to the other end of the basement, to the door that led back up to the main part of the facility, when they heard door fly open behind them and they all turned to see Chun-Li and company standing in the there. Chun-Li narrowed her eyes at Guerrilla and he squinted at her in return.

Guerrilla looked at Vicious. "Stop them. Kill them"

Immediately, Vicious nodded and charged at them.

All of them readied to fight this man.

"I got 'im!" Ken dashed past everyone, right at Vicious. Ken threw his body right into the assassin's gut, shoulder first and tackling him to the floor. He held Vicious down and looked back at his companions, "GO! I GOT THIS!"

The others ran past just as Vicious kicked Ken off of him and they stood in a faceoff with one another.

"You want them, buddy?" Ken asked. "You gotta go through me."

Vicious just narrowed his eyes and ran at Ken.

* * *

Guerrilla and his team made their way to the garaging area where a number of vehicles were housed but they met with opposition in the forms of the commandos attacking their soldiers. They all ducked behind a vehicle gunfire went off around them and bullets ricocheted everywhere.

"Damn, these guys are determined!" Juri mentioned.

Kirill looked up and saw that Chun-Li and company were just entering the area as well. "Sir!"

Guerrilla gritted his teeth, "Damn them…"

"Sir, get the panic room! We will hold them here!"

"Very good." He looked at Juri and Lana, "You two, come with me."

They looked at him, curiously.

"Just in case."

They ran off while Kirill got on his own communicator. "All units press hard! Any that can be spared to the garage! Now!"

* * *

While the gunfire kept up around them, Guile happened to look up and see Guerrilla, Lana, and Juri head out another door. The captain looked at Viper, "Where does that door go?"

Viper checked the wrist computer, "Back inside! Underground. There is a panic room of some sort not too far from here."

Guile narrowed his eyes. "Chun-Li… go get Guerrilla."

Chun-Li looked at him, "Guile…"

"He's all yours, Chun-Li. Like I said…" He looked at the battle around him. "I got business with Kirill." He looked back at her, seeing a still unsure look on her face. "You let all of us handle our part! We can do this! Now, go!"

Chun-Li sighed and took off after Guerrilla with Viper right behind her.

* * *

After taking down a couple of commandos, Kirill walked around the corner from a vehicle only to be decked across the face by Guile. Kirill stumbled back against the jeep, grabbing his jaw.

Guile stood tall. "I made you a promise, you son of a bitch. I'm gonna make damn sure that I keep it."

"Good luck with that, you pissy American," Kirill entered a fighting stance. "I'm going to kill. Right here."

"You better be ready to go to work, then." Guile brought his fists up.

* * *

Following the path that Guerrilla took, Viper and Chun-Li ran through the facility, charging down a flight of stairs. Chun-Li felt a sudden surge of power from the room they were about to enter. She tackled Viper to the ground just as they were going through the door, shouting, "GET DOWN!"

They just missed being hit by a blast of ki, courtesy of Juri. They looked up at the Taekwondo expert as she laughed.

"Well, well, well," Juri mocked, "what do we have here? A spring flower and a snake. Almost fitting."

Gritting her teeth as her anger reached its boiling point, Chun-Li got up and entered a fighting stance, "I've had all I'm going to take from you, Juri."

Juri snickered. "Oooh, this should be fun." She prepared for a fight, as well.

"Chun-Li, go." Viper got to her feet. "Go after Guerrilla. She's mine." She stared at Juri, "I heard reports you were working for H.A.T.E., Juri. But I didn't know you were that desperate for a job."

"Oh, shut up, Viper."

"Fine by me." Viper adjusted her gloves, "I'd rather beat you down anyway."

Chun-Li looked at her ally, "Viper…"

"Go, Chun-Li. I'll handle this."

"Thank you." She looked coldly at Juri.

Juri snickered. "Go ahead. The boss is waiting for you anyway. Have fun."

Chun-Li huffed and ran past her.

Juri waited until she was out of sight and looked back at Viper. "Care to begin?"

"I'd love to," Viper declared.

* * *

Chun-Li came to the panic room just as the door was about to close and jumped to stop the door from locking, forcing it back open with a kick and breaking the door off of its hinges. Chun-Li entered the rather large panic room and looked at the surprised Lana, causing the woman to back down with just her gaze.

Guerrilla looked behind him and saw Chun-Li. He could tell she was ready for war but he decided to revert back to mind games. Those were best weapon, he figured. "Last we fought, you barely…"

"SHUT UP!"

Guerrilla stopped speaking. He was shocked. That told him, immediately, that his mind games wouldn't work. His voice, his mere presence, usually triggered some kind of anxiety in Chun-Li. But, now, all he could see from her was rage. For the first time, he thought he may have crossed a line.

"You threatened my daughter, separated me from her and my husband, sent my husband off to die, and you think anything you can say is about to stop what's going to happen?"

Guerrilla's face started to twitch. He knew he was in for a fight.

"Everyone made _damn_ sure that I got you, one on one, and I plan to make _damn_ good use of that opportunity." She noticed that Lana was reaching for something and, in a flash, kicked the woman so hard that she flew against the wall. Lana was knocked out instantly, causing her to drop the Taser she was reaching for.

Guerrilla was shocked by feat, let alone her seeing Lana move in the first place.

After making sure she was out, Chun-Li stared back at her enemy with all the hate she had. "No one left to hide behind and I will _not_ let you get away with what you've done!" She stared at him, letting all of his crimes run through her head. "You think you Ryu kicked the hell out of you two years ago?" She got into a fighting stance. "You haven't seen anything yet."

* * *

**A/N: Boom. We are off and running. We are right into the climax of this story. You won't want to miss a single second of the next chapter, I promise! Thanks for the reviews. I'm saying it in advance because I know they are coming.**


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

Chun-Li jumped up and came down with a kick that Guerrilla dodged, if just barely. He swung his massive at the same impressive speed he still managed to move at. She avoided the strike and hit him with a palm strike across the face. He tried to kick her but she dodged it and kicked him in the side. He absorbed the blow with a grunt and they began to trade ferocious blows with one another. He grabbed her arm as she tried to strike him in the face again. He lifted her up and tossed her against a wall and took a second to catch his breath.

"You stupid woman!" Guerrilla gritted.

Chun-Li started to get to her feet.

"Do you really think this matters?! _Any_ of it?! You?! Your friends?! Your husband?!"

Standing up, Chun-Li gritted her teeth as she started to growl.

"Burn this place to the ground! Take me in, if you think it'll matter! It will change nothing! I am _destined_ to rule this world! I _will_ find a way! Because that is who I am! I have the power! I have the knowledge! I have the cunning! You! What are you?! You _were_ the most capable fighter! You _were_ a great investigator! Even once, you _were_ the strongest woman in the world! Now, look at you! LOOK AT YOU!" He seethed. "You are now… no more… than a HOUSEWIFE! What are you to me?! Eh?! WHAT ARE YOU?!"

She stared at him for a handful of seconds and, in a calm voice, gave her reply, "Shut the hell up." She ran at him at blinding speed and kicked him across the face.

* * *

Ryu charged at Akuma, running full speed and did not hold anything back. They entered into a straight fist fight. After a few exchanges, Ryu threw in a kick that, much to both of their surprise, had enough speed and force to catch Akuma right across the face. Akuma stumbled back and stopped. He looked at Ryu and dashed at him, giving him a devastating punch to his gut, taking away all of his air. A swift knee and a hard left across the cheek sent Ryu skidding along the ground. The pain was great but Ryu didn't feel it, anymore. As soon as it registered, though, he pushed it away from his mind. He got up just as Akuma was on top of him and gave Akuma a Tatsumaki. A two punch-one to the stomach, hard foot to the knee, and a knee to the face slowed the Dark Hadou master's momentum but not for long. Akuma immediately retaliated with a combination of his own but Ryu was becoming just as relentless. They entered into another furious duel of punches and kicks. They jumped back from each other and charged again, their fists colliding a causing a brilliant light.

* * *

Vicious kicked Ken across the face, causing the Hadou fight to spin around and, temporarily, lose his bearings. When got ahold of himself, he saw Vicious charging at him. Ken ducked a punch, sidestepped a kick, and blocked another. Ken grabbed by Vicious by the collar of his coat followed by pulling the assassin as he rolled backwards, throwing Vicious to the ground. Vicious was disoriented as Ken fist collided with his jaw. Vicious struggled to get to his feet as Ken entered his traditional fighting stance, bouncing on his feet.

"Ya know?" Ken breathed out. "I'm used to having someone to jaw jack with while I fight 'em. Even Ryu can throw in some conversation every now and then." He put arms out in a pleading motion for a second before putting them back in traditional stance, bouncing all the while. "C'mon, man! Gimme somethin'!"

Vicious spit and stood up. "I will kill you."

Ken thought about that and gave a slight nudge of his head. "Dark. But I can work with that."

Vicious ran at Ken, leading with a flying kick. Ken dodged the kick and tried to answer with a spinning one of his own but Vicious ducked under and landed a forearm blow to Ken's jaw. Ken backed off a second, Vicious ran and gave him a dropkick that threw Ken to the floor.

Ken rubbed his chest and looked at his opponent. "This is gonna be a little tougher than I thought."

* * *

Guile and Kirill struggled with each other until Guile pushed Kirill against one of the keeps and missed a follow up punch. Kirill stomped Guile in the side then punched him across the face. He shoved Guile against another jeep and began to try and strangle him. Guile was already starting to turn read to Kirill's grip. But the harder it got for him to breathe, the angrier Guile was getting; he smack Kirill's elbows and headbutted him as hard as he could, throwing Kirill away from him and causing both of them to have trickles of blood to come from their foreheads. They both stumbled for a second from the blow but Guile saw his opportunity. He ran and booted Kirill across the side of the face and grabbed him by the shirt, starting to punch him again and again in the face. Kirill interrupted one punch and punched Guile in return, giving him three more in succession. Guile blocked one of his, ducked down, and kicked him in the side of the leg then uppercut, sending Kirill flying into the air and landing on the hood of a jeep.

As Guile stalked over to Kirill, a H.A.T.E. soldier ran at him with a gun drawn. In a flash, Guile grabbed the gun, elbowed the soldier in the face, kneed him in the gut, and tossed him out of the way, knocking him out as he hit another vehicle.

Kirill crawled away to give himself space to get up. He did so and pulled out a combat knife.

Guile stared at him in disbelief, huffing, "Really? You didn't use that sooner."

"Scared, American?" Kirill asked.

"Hardly." Guile smiled. "All you did was make this interesting."

"I'll carve my name in your corpse."

"We'll see about that. Let's go, sweetheart."

Having enough of his insults, Kirill greeted his teeth and lunged at Guile.

* * *

Kelly flipped over Cammy and dodged a kick from the MI6 agent. Cammy gritted and went for a flurry of rights and lefts that Kelly. Kelly caught Cammy's arm during a punch and threw her down the hallway. Cammy looked just in time to dodge being stopped by the ninja and hurried back to her feet. She swung at Kelly, catching her across the jaw, then kicks her in the chest, that forces her against a set of the bars. Cammy went for a roundhouse to Kelly's head, narrowly missing the ninja's head as she ducked out of the way. Kelly came back with a kick to Cammy's gut, forcing her away. Kelly got to her feet and punched Cammy in the face twice. Cammy shook off the punches but received a sudden and powerful kick from her opponent that sent sailing down the hallway before landing hard.

Cammy shook her left arm as she landed on it awkwardly, getting the feeling back into it. She looked back at Kelly, who had an arrogant smirk on her face. Cammy vowed she would eliminate that smirk, once and for all.

* * *

Ludge ran at Sagat and tackled him back into the previous hallway and forced him against a wall. Sagat lifted his fist and crashed them into Ludge's back. Ludge recovered and came back with an uppercut. Sagat retaliated with a punch of his own and kicked him in the side. Ludge scooted back and began to bounce his toes and take a traditional kickboxing stance. Sagat gritted his teeth and they both battled it out with hard blows that would easily break any normal person. During the exchange, Ludge landed a well place strike right into Sagat's gut with his knee but Sagat shook off the blow and landed a hard strike right across the face of the villain.

Ludge backed off and growled.

"So, you wish to demonstrate your power using knee strikes?" Sagat asked. "I, gladly, accept. I don't like to bring it up, boy, because it sounds self-indulgent… but I'm not called the 'Emperor of Muay Thai' for now reason."

* * *

Sakura ran as fast as she could, using the advantage of being able to jump fences to her advantage as the black car gave chase to her. She made to some of the more populated areas of the neighborhood, coming to a lot of businesses and busy streets. She was sure she was attracting a lot of attention but she figured that could be in her favor for keeping her pursuers busy while she came up with a plan.

Which, she just realized, she, completely, forgot to do.

All she had in mind was getting the unwanted company away from the house. She had absolutely no idea how to bring this chase to an end. She zigzagged through the busy streets of the L.A., getting to even more populated areas where she hoped she could stall her pursuers or stop them, if she could. She finally came to an area where they were so hell bent on catching her that followed her right into an intersection. The direction they were running was facing a light just turning yellow. Sakura saw a garbage truck coming from the other street, knowing the light would be green by the time it got there.

Not the best plan was brewing in her mind, she could admit, but a plan was a plan.

She moved faster for the intersection, making sure to stay in sight, and, once the light turned red, she gunned it and ran full speed through the intersection. The car followed and the tail end was caught by the garbage truck, causing it to spin out of control and stop.

Sakura stopped running, severely out of breath and looked at the scene. She smiled and leaned over, trying to catch her breath. She thought she was in the clear until she heard tires screeching behind her and she saw another black car coming for her.

"Oh, come on!" Sakura took off running again.

* * *

Viper and Juri were exchanging attacks with one another but were countering frequently as they both knew each other all too well. They were quite evenly matched for the most part; both women knowing that the basics wouldn't do a thing but prolong this fight. Juri went for a kick that Viper ducked under and punched Juri across the face. Juri jumped up as Viper approached and kicker with both feet, right in the chest, sending Viper back. Charging her Thunder Knuckle, she rushed at Juri and hit her hard enough to take her off of her feet. Juri growled as she got up and used her Senpusha to knock Viper back.

Viper stood up, rubbing her chin. "Guess there's no point in hold back, is there?"

Juri chuckled. "Between us? Perish the thought!"

"Alright." Viper tightened her glove, letting the electricity crackle. "You asked for it."

Juri's Feng Shui Engine glowed, "Bring it!"

With a battle roar, they ran at each other.

* * *

After their last exchange of blows, Akuma punched Ryu, sending him skidding across the ground, throwing the punch from a crouched position. As Ryu came to stop, Akuma stood up straight and he considered how this current contest was going. He knew that Ryu was capable of so much more and he wanted to see it. He needed to see it. Akuma walked over to Ryu as he struggled to get to his feet, with his back to Akuma.

"Why are you restricting yourself?" Akuma asked.

Ryu didn't have time for such questions. For his insults. "Akuma…" he said in a warning tone.

"If you plan to defeat me… even kill me… you cannot hold back."

Ryu was starting to breathe hard but not from fear. His anger was boiling to the surface.

"You still have fear. If you hold on to it, you will lose everything that you are fighting for."

Ryu gritted his teeth. His fists tightened.

"You claim that you fight for Chun-Li, for your wife. For your daughter? Your family and friends? Is that all you can muster for them? Can you not do more than this? Do they mean so little to you that you will not do everything possible for them?"

Ryu started seething as his aura darkened.

"Come, Ryu. You mustn't hold it back. This is no longer the time. Release your fear, release your humanity. Show me your true power."

Ryu threatened to crack his own teeth if he bit down any harder. He saw no reason to disagree with Akuma. He had to save Chun-Li and protect Mei; he had to save Ken, Guile, and Cammy. He couldn't let any of them down; they came so far for him. He had to be willing to do the same. He could only pray that, one day, everyone would forgive him for what he was about to do, especially Chun-Li.

"You want it?" Ryu's voice became so deep, it nearly matched Akuma's. He slowly got to his feet and turned to look at Akuma. His began to glow red. "You got it."

Now, there was no turning back. The Dark Hadou had taken over.

* * *

**A/N: Oh, boy. Now, the stakes are even higher. I don't even know if I have the words set up the next chapter. You just have to be here.**

**Don't miss it.**


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**A/N: Though it pains me to say this guys, and believe me, it really does hurt, we are approaching the end of our tale. Don't worry. It's not over yet but we are getting there.  
**

**But still, thank you all so much. For just what you've done so far this is almost my single most reviewed story. Thank you all so much. You guys rock! Enjoy Chapter Fourteen!**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

The aura of the Dark Hadou surrounded Ryu as his eyes continued to glow red. He hated this power. More than anything, he hated it. The only thing he hated more than the power was himself for having to use it. But he had to. He had to save everyone. No matter the cost. He stared at Akuma and entered into a fighting stance.

Akuma did the same, preparing for the next exchange. After all, this was the fight he truly wanted.

In flash, Ryu dashed at Akuma and their fists collided, their respective Hadou kis caused the Earth around them to shake. They were thrown back from their own power and Akuma ran in and went for a kick. But Ryu dodged out of the way and hit a solid Shoryuken on Akuma's chin, lifting him off of the ground and sending him back to ground, crashing hard on his back. Ryu landed in a crouch and and looked at his enemy. Shaking off the uppercut, Akuma got to a knee and narrowed his eyes. The speed and power of the Shoryuken took him by surprise. But it did tell Akuma how far Ryu was willing to go for this battle, to defeat him.

Now, Akuma could see how far had to go, as well. He couldn't really hold back anymore. Still, he could sense some hesitation on Ryu's part but only the battle itself would destroy those restraints. Akuma tightened his fists and ran at his rival.

* * *

Guerrilla received another kick from Chun-Li and stumbled back against his computer console. He looked at the computer and looked back at Chun-Li. He felt the very real probability, no longer a possibility, that he may lose this fight. He turned around fully and hit a few keys on the computer. After a couple of seconds, Chun-Li crashed her leg right into the back of his knee. Guerrilla grunted, stumbling down to a kneeling position. Chun-Li kicked him hard enough in the face to spin herself around and to knock Guerrilla to the floor, momentarily. Guerrilla got up, dodging her next kick, and punched her in the gut then shoved her away, giving him a running start to throw his forearm across her face, knocking her down. He stumbled back to the console, his knee still feeling the effects of the kick, and typed some more. After another a second, he was finished his work and hit a button that began a countdown that was visible on the screen. Shaking off the forearm strike, Chun-Li got up and advanced to attack him again.

"ENOUGH!" Guerrilla yelled, holding his hand out.

She stopped, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Enough, Chun-Li," he spoke in a ragged voice. "Or your husband dies."

"You've already tried to kill him," her voice gravelly, as well.

"I know. I mean, in just a few minutes." He pointed to the screen.

Chun-Li looked at the screen. The area indicated with somewhere in northern Japan. The countdown at the bottom of the screen showed a time counting down currently at the 7:37 mark.

"One of the satellites that the Red Eclipse controls will be in position over where Ryu and Akuma are fighting in just a matter of minutes. At which point, the satellite will fire a laser beam powerful enough to kill them both."

Chun-Li's eyes went wide.

"I will concede this fight but you will let me go." He motioned toward the unconscious Lana's tablet. "I can stop the countdown once I'm clear of this place. You can even monitor it from here. You let me go. You let me leave here and I will let Ryu live, I swear it."

Despite herself, Chun-Li couldn't help but consider the option but her own anger was still affecting her. She was feeling torn: save her husband or stop this tyrant.

"You will let me leave. Or else…."

Chun-Li stared at the screen and took into account that everything Guerrilla was saying but also remembering who this man is. She knew that he could very well just be lying to her. He could be planning to kill the only man she loved and all he wanted was a way to get away with it and laugh it off while he did. He wasn't going to do that. She wouldn't let him. He was not getting away. She could save Ryu and stop this madman. She could do both. She hardened herself again and, slowly, turned her death stare right at him.

Guerrilla could see her decision was made but he still had to try. "Let me leave, Chun-Li, and I will stop the countdown. I swear."

"Guerrilla…" Chun-Li said, her voice as strong as ever. "You swearing doesn't mean a damn thing to me."

He started to shake in rage and frustration.

"You're _not_ leaving. I'm _not_ letting you go. I'm going to make sure you never do this to another family. I'm not going to let you kill Ryu."

"You won't be able to stop me."

"Wrong. Very wrong. I'm going to beat you, here and now, and I won't let you kill him."

"You cannot stop me."

"Oh. How wrong you are."

* * *

Guile dodged Kirill's knife swipe and moved in for a kick that Kirill managed to avoid. They entered into an exchange that impressed Guile with how much it took to, apparently, put Kirill down and the H.A.T.E. general's tenacity to hold on to his knife. They were both distracted by a loud crash that occurred from the door where Guerrilla escaped to and Chun-Li and Viper followed after. The crash was the result of the door flying off its hinges from Viper kicking Juri against, as they continued their battle with just as much fervor as they did before. Viper went for a kick but Juri threw her toward Guile, Viper managing to land on her feet.

Guile looked at her. "Having fun?"

"Time of my life," Viper growled.

They stood back to back as Kirill and Juri stalked around them.

"I'm not switching dance partners," Guile declared.

Viper scoffed. "Wouldn't dream of asking."

Juri jumped over a jeep while Kirill ran in with his knife.

Guile and Viper looked over the shoulders at each other and nodded.

Viper ran at Juri and caught her kick attempted and punched her in the face. Guile caught Kirill's arm and punched him across the face.

* * *

Vicious charged at Ken, ramming his shoulder into his gut, forcing him through a door. Ken tossed Vicious off after they landed and stood up to only receive a kick for his trouble. Ken landed against the stairs and Vicious pursued him as they began fighting up the stairs. They fought their way outside, making to just outside of the garage where Guile and Viper were still doing battle. Ken punched Vicious across the face then hit another strong knee in the gut but this just angered the assassin even more. He unleashed a flurry of blows on Ken followed by jumping up to knee his opponent in the side of the head. Ken rolled along the ground before coming to a stop. He looked to see Vicious standing over him; before he could react, Vicious kneeled down, trapping Ken's left arm with his leg, pinning the right arm with his hand, and he began to throttle Ken with his free hand, cutting off the Hadou fighter's air supply.

Ken tried to move to get Vicious off of him but Vicious just applied more pressure, causing Ken's brain to go into panic mode without him realizing it.

"Die," Vicious whispered, harshly.

Ken was still struggling, gritting his teeth as his vision started to blacken.

"Die!"

* * *

Cammy and Kelly were still going at each other with all they had. Kelly proved herself to be as agile as Vega but far more irritating, at least in Cammy's mind. Their battle continued and Cammy waited for the perfect moment and managed to hit Kelly with her Cannon Spike. But, while they were still in the air, Kelly smirked, twisted her body around, and nailed a solid, bone-breaking kick right into Cammy's right side, causing to Cammy grunt right as the blow landed. They both hit the floor and Cammy clutched her side, gritting her teeth. She could feel that, at least, two ribs were cracked; not enough to stop her from fighting but it would slow her down if she didn't block the pain out.

"Sorry, Cammy," Kelly smiled. "There's only room for one blonde beauty in this scenario. And you're just outdated."

Cammy grunted as she got to her feet. "Outdated?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did that confuse you? I'll be direct: old."

That was the last straw. Cammy was already not to thrilled with this woman but she crossed the line for the last time. She gave the ninja a cold hard stare. She removed her hand and ignored her pain. "Old." She stared quietly for a few seconds. "Old, am I?" She nodded, nonchalantly. "Let's see how old I am, shall we?" She entered her fighting stance again.

"Your funeral." Kelly readied herself again.

* * *

Sagat punched Ludge across the face and received one himself for his trouble. Ludge then tackled Sagat into the nearest wall. He held his right forearm against Sagat's throat, drew his left fist back, and charged it with ki. Sagat grunted as he felt the power surge and managed to move his head just as Ludge's fist connected with the metal wall behind Sagat, destroying part of it. Sagat kneed Ludge in the gut and pushed him away, followed by a kick against his left arm. Ludge growled and punched Sagat in the chest, grabbed his head, and brought the Muay Thai Champion down so he could knee him in the face. Sagat stumbled back, dazed from the attack. He didn't have a chance to dodge another ki charged punch from Ludge. He flew into the wall, sticking there for a second before slowly peeling off and falling to the ground.

Ludge exhaled, figuring he finally won the fight. Shaking out his left arm, he turned and went back to help Kelly deal with Cammy.

Sagat laid on the ground for another second as he got his bearings back. Once he felt alright enough to continue, he made a fist and began to rise.

Ludge stopped and looked back to see the one-eyed mammoth, slowly, get to his feet.

"Get back here, boy," Sagat ordered.

Ludge turned around and gritted his teeth.

"This isn't over yet."

* * *

Sakura was still going at top speed as the black car was chasing after. Unfortunately, these drivers were a lot smarter than the last guys. The problem was is that she was starting to run on empty, herself. She kept running until she turned down a next alley, hoping to lose the car but she came to a dead end. She was about to turn around and run out when she saw the black car pull in block the exit of the alley.

"Shit!" Sakura groaned. She wasn't one to usually curse so harshly unless the occasion called for it. She deemed this situation worthy of such a word.

The doors to the car opened and men dressed like G-Men, carrying batons, started exiting, including a statuesque man who was, easily, as big as Guile get out of the backseat. He was wearing a black tank top, black pants, and combat boots. She realized Guerrilla wouldn't send a guy like this just to watch the house or follow her.

'_Maybe to fight me,_' Sakura thought. '_In case I became trouble. Like I always do._' She really did interrupt something; something important, from the look of it. And now she was going to pay for it.

Sakura sighed. Despite how this ended, she was ready to deal with it. "Oh, well. Guess I go down fighting!" She brought her fists up, ready for the fight.

She showed no fear as her pursuers advanced forward. They were about to attack when the man closest to the car found his head and back slammed into the car with extreme force by someone pulling on his coat jacket, throwing him back. Sakura looked to see a man wearing a bright yellow hoodie, red fist guards, sunglasses, and bandanna over his face. She had no idea who this was but he was helping her so she didn't ask questions. She just ran in and punched the first man then kicking the second. Her mystery ally jumped the larger man, kicking him the back to knock him out of the way. He helped Sakura knock out the first G-Man with hard right jab right in the face, breaking his nose. Sakura took the second G-Man's arm, twisted it, kicked him in the chest twice, then booted him until he flew against the car, knocking him out as well. Sakura's new ally went and stood by her while the large man got to his feet.

The large man walked in front of the two and cracked his knuckles. He looked at the hooded man, "I don't know who you are but you get one chance to walk away."

The hooded man shrugged. "Nah, I'm good."

Sakura looked over at him. '_That voice._'

"Your mistake, pal."

* * *

Chun-Li punched Guerrilla out of the way and looked at the computer console and tried to find a way to stop the satellite from firing. She had a little over four minutes. She tried to hit a few keys on the computer in order to break into the system and stop the satellite. Suddenly, Guerrilla grabbed her from the behind, throwing her backwards and causing her to hit the floor. She got up in time to dodge a smashing punch from him. She kicked him across the face but he retaliated with punch to her gut. She grunted but, unlike two years ago when that put her down for a second, it only enraged her. She jumped up and kneed him in the face.

Guerrilla stumbled back, grabbing his nose. He felt blood trickling down. Maybe not broken but something was damaged. He moved his hand and looked at the blood and growled, "You damned…" He looked at her. "You will fail! You will not save your husband!"

Chun-Li looked at the countdown. 3:39 until the satellite lines up. She looked back at Guerrilla. "Yes. I will."

* * *

**A/N: As you may have guessed, yes, we are winding down to the final moments of our battles. And, I guarantee, they are going to be something to behold.**

**Will Chun-Li stop the satellite? Will it even matter with Ryu tapping into the Dark Hadou? Can Ken survive Vicious? Who is going to win the showdown of titans between Sagat and Ludge? Can Guile and Viper defeat Kirill and Juri? And who is the mysterious stranger helping Sakura?**

**I'm telling you right now: you do NOT want to miss Chapter Fifteen!**


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter Fifteen  
**

Ryu and Akuma battled in an unstopped barrage of kicks and punches that caused the ground to quake with every single blow that landed. Akuma landed a Shoryuken of his own that Ryu managed to shake off the strike quick enough to turn it into a Tatsumaki. Akuma landed on the ground and looked back at Ryu as he landed.

Akuma got to his feet. Truly, this battle was reaching his climax. He no longer needed to hold back. He took a deep breath and exhaled harshly, the air from his nostrils more like fire from a jet engine. He summoned more of the Dark Hadou and began to absorb it into himself.

Ryu felt the power increase. He felt Akuma becoming stronger. He felt the demon's aura becoming darker. He could feel the man formerly known as Gouki give himself further into the evil and that evil becoming stronger and deeper.

But Ryu felt no fear. He felt only restlessness. He wanted to continue the battle. In the back of his mind, he was worrying what was happening to him. But he couldn't focus on that right now.

A few seconds later, Akuma finished his transformation, causing his hair to turn white and the aura of the Dark Hadou to surround him. "Ryu…" his voice boomed. "This is where our battle ends. This is where the True Master of the Fist is decided."

Ryu was steadying his breathing. His own Dark Hadou was growing without him even trying but he couldn't risk trying to stop it either. He needed the power. At least, that's what he had to keep telling himself. "I don't care what is decided here. As long as it ends."

"I agree."

They entered into fighting stances again as the final stages of the battle began.

* * *

Sakura and her new ally charged at the big guy and began fighting him. Not so surprising, he had quite a bit of skill and managed to get a couple of shots in, one on Sakura's gut and another to the back of the hooded man. Sakura stumbled back against the wall as the large man tried to kick her, she dodged by dropping to the ground, and kicking the leg he was standing on, leading him to stumble. The hooded man punched the muscle man in the face but he retaliated with an elbow the hooded man's chest. Sakura kicked the muscle man and he took a swing at her but missed and the hooded man to advantage by jumping in the air and kicking him in the face, twice, twisting in the air while doing so.

Sakura could swear she'd seen that technique before.

But she ignored that for now. The muscle man was down. She twisted her body and placed her hands behind her, gathering her ki. "Hadouken!" She threw the energy ball at the muscle man, sending him through the car and to the street, where he stopped, unconscious.

After he was down, both Sakura and her ally leaned over, clamping their hands against their knees as their breath back. The hooded man's bandanna and sunglasses fell off, landing on the ground.

Sakura was relieved the fight was over and definitely owed this guy a debt of gratitude. She straightened herself up and exhaled one more time. She looked at her new ally, "Thanks for the help."

He turned around and lowered his hood, revealing his face to her. "No problem, Sakura."

She recognized him, instantly, and put on a big smile. "SEAN!" She ran and hugged him.

The Brazilian fighter just laughed and hugged her back. "Hey!" They released the hug. "How's life?"

She shrugged, "Oh, ya know… nothing new. 'Cept the terrorist organization following us. Ya know. The usual."

"Totally."

"What are you doing here?"

He shrugged, "Tournament in Seattle. Came here to see Eliza and Mel."

"How'd you do in the Tournament?"

"You have to ask? Tsk! I won!"

"Awesome!" They high fived one another.

"Thanks."

Sakura looked at their pursuers, "We better leave. I wanna make sure Mei and the others are okay."

Sean pointed toward the street, "Bike's around the corner." He picked up his belongings and they started to leave.

"So, how'd you find me, anyway? Actually, how'd ya know I was in trouble?"

"Saw the ruckus you were causing on the street and decided to follow you. So… what's going on?"

Sakura examined the mess, "Well, it's a long story." She looked back at Sean, "And, it's not over yet."

* * *

Cammy kicked Kelly across the face then punched her again and again, certain she knocked her out until Kelly grabbed her shirt and headbutted her. Cammy stumbled back as the other captives started shouting encouragement to her. Cammy heard their cheers and smirked; she looked back at Kelly, who was in mid-jump for a kick. She dodged the kick as she came in and punched her across the face. Kelly tried to shake off the attack but Cammy punched her again. And again. And again. With every blow, Cammy felt her second wind surge up and began to punch Kelly harder and harder, even loosening some teeth. Cammy punched her one more time and Kelly stumbled against the wall. The ninja pushed herself off of the wall, growling as blood dropped from her mouth.

"Oh, so sad," Cammy smirked. "I messed up that pretty little smile."

Kelly roared and charged at her to continue the fight but she was far more feral now, her focus failing with every attempt at a strike. Cammy grabbed her arm, pulled her forward, and punched her forearm hard enough to break it. Kelly went to scream but Cammy punched her in the throat. Kelly stumbled back, gasping and clutching at her neck. It wasn't enough to end her life but the initial shock took her off of her game.

This is exactly what Cammy wanted, as it gave her enough time to prep for another attack. One to end this fight. She ran at Kelly with two quick steps, jumped, and yelled, "CANNON DRILL!" She twisted her body, drilling her twisting feet fight into Kelly's sternum and sending her into the wall, knocking her out.

Cammy smirked, "Hmph. How's that for old, bitch?" She walked over and started freeing the prisoners. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yes," Sharma answered.

"Ms. Cammy!" Bordeaux said. "Guerrilla! He…"

"I know," Cammy said, freeing everyone else and getting them out of the cells. "We're working on it."

They all looked when they heard a gun cock back. They saw a soldier with his armor barely hanging on him, standing with an assault rifle.

Cammy gritted her teeth, "Bollocks."

She had no way to save everyone in case any bullets went astray. The soldier aimed the gun at Cammy but a bullet tore through shoulder. He screamed in pain and dropped the gun and Cammy hurried in to knock him out with a kick to the face. Cammy looked up to see Selina holding a 9MM in her hand, smoke still coming from the chamber.

Cammy smiled. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, Mum," Selina smiled, walking down the stairs. "It was like hell driving past Parliament to get to the airport."

Cammy stuck her hand out, "Just glad that you made it."

Selina shook her hand. "Same here, Chief."

They released the handshake and Cammy looked at the prisoners. "Get them out and to safety." She looked back at Selina, "I'm gonna go find the others."

"I'll handle it, Mum."

* * *

Cammy entered the hallway and heard a ruckus nearby. She ran to another hallway to see Sagat landing on the ground from a punch from Ludge. "Sagat?" she asked.

"A LITTLE BUSY AT THE MOMENT!" Sagat yelled as he got to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm just looking for everyone."

Sagat swung at Ludge, who dodged. "Well, you found me! Now, leave me to this!" He got punched again.

A blow that caused Cammy to wince in pain. "Sure you don't need help?"

Sagat shook off the punch and commanded, "Don't _ever_ ask me that question again!"

Cammy just shrugged and took off to see who else she could find, leaving Sagat to his fight.

* * *

Guile was tossed against the wall from Kirill's throw. The H.A.T.E. general ran at the Airman to run him through. Guile got his wits back about him and managed to punch Kirill once he was close, causing Kirill to drop the knife among some nearby crates. Kirill got up and they entered a fierce exchange until Guile got the upperhand with a strong uppercut. Kirill stumbled away, finding a loose wrench on the ground to throw at Guile. Guile barely had time to drop to the ground and dodge the tool before it connected with his head. He got up and charged at Kirill but he failed to see that he recovered the knife. Kirill turned around suddenly and sliced Guile across the chest. Guile grunted and fell back, pressing his hand to his chest. It wasn't a deep enough wound to be fatal or very threatening but it did put him at a disadvantage.

Kirill chuckled. "I've got you, now. You American piece of trash."

Guile narrowed his eyes and brought his fists up again.

Kirill sneered and ran at him. Their exchange was strong, fierce, and dangerous. Guile knew he just had get in one good shot and this was over. He just needed the opportunity. After a kick that spun Guile around and momentarily took him off of his feet, Kirill back up and ran at him, launching himself the bumper of a jeep.

Guile saw his opportunity but it was going to hurt. He rushed to his feet, letting his right forearm take a slash from the knife. But, as the blade was cutting him, he grabbed Kirill's wrist and twisted it, snapping it instantly. Kirill dropped the knife and wanted to scream but Guile punched across the jaw. Guile unleashed everything he had, punching over and over again. He jumped and performed a Flash Kick, taking Kirill off of his feet, sending him into the air, and sending landing on the hood of another vehicle with authority. Kirill rolled off of the hood of the car, laying on the ground and started to get to his feet. Guile could see from his struggle that this fight was over. Time to end it.

He gathered his ki in his forearms, despite the wound on the right one from the knife. "SONIC BOOM!" He threw the energy waves and they crashed into Kirill, colliding right into his gut and sending him sailing right into the wall. Kirill hit the ground, stomach first, unconscious.

Guile exhaled and fell against a jeep, falling to a seated position. He chuckled, groggily. "U.S.A." He exhaled. "Ya son of a bitch."

* * *

With their energy running low from the frenzied high of their clash, Juri and Viper knew that this brawl had to end soon. They punched each other, simultaneously, then backed away. Viper ran but Juri smirked as her eye flashed. Viper swung with her fist but Juri dodged underneath it then performed her Kaisen Dankairaku, kicking Viper over and over again with spinning kicks to send them both rising into the air. While in the middle of the next kick, Viper got enough of her senses to grab Juri's legs in the middle of one of her kicks and used her Burning Dance technique, only she had to use it in reverse. Performing a flip mid-air, Viper came down with a Burning Kick then crossed her and threw herself against Juri's throat, throwing them both to the ground. After the impact, Juri gritted her teeth but looked at the Viper, who just smirked.

Juri's eyes went wide. She knew what was coming next.

Viper turned on her Thunder Knuckle, while her arms were still against Juri's throat, and shocked her into submission. Once she was out, Viper stopped the electric current and stumbled off her on to her hand and knees. As usual in moments like this, the red haired woman wondered if maybe now was a good time a career change.

* * *

Sagat took another punch from Ludge but he noticed something that actually made him laugh. In fact, it made him laugh hard.

Ludge was breathing hard but was getting angry, "What?"

Sagat chuckled and stood up. He rubbed his chin. "You. Your body language? Your breathing hard? You don't have the stamina for a distance fight, boy."

"You don't know anything, old man."

"No? I know that you're used to being the bigger man in a fight so they end quicker. You don't know how to go the distance."

Ludge growled at him.

"Face it, kid: you're nothing but a little boy in a grown man's body."

"SHUT UP!" He ran at Sagat and threw a series of punches and kicks. While a couple of them did manage to hit Sagat, they were not as strong as when the fight started.

As Sagat had predicted, Ludge was starting to run on empty and all of his power seemed to be gone and, even with his bruises, Sagat was more than ready to keep going. The Muay Thai Emperor punched and kicked Ludge every way he could, draining the kickboxer of any power he had left. After another minute of a brutal barrage, Sagat was ready to deal the finish blow: he punched Ludge across the face, charged his fists with ki, slammed them into Ludge's gut and shouted, "TIGER!" The ki blast surged through Ludge's body and threw him against the far wall and through it.

Breathing hard, Sagat stood tall and knew the fight was over. "Turnabout is fair play, boy." He clutched a deep bruise on the side of his abdomen but grunted. He went on to follow the way Cammy went to find the others.

* * *

Ken was still struggling to breathe against Vicious's grip. He finally calmed down enough to think. He didn't have much time left before he lost consciousness but he had to do what he could. He pushed his lower body up on his toes, threw all of his remaining body weight into driving his knee into Vicious's side. Instantly, two ribs were broken. Vicious stumbled a bit but he still had a firm grip on Ken's neck. However, Ken was free enough to move his body and wraps legs and hands around Vicious's arm that still had his hand on the blonde fighter's throat. Ken jerked his hips, upward, and broke Vicious's arm. Vicious screamed as he released the hold; Ken rolled away and Vicious grabbed his arm. Ken got to a crouching position and checked his throat. He saw that Vicious was not at all focused on him at the moment and that this was his only chance.

Ken charged at Vicious, punching him as hard as he could which knocked Vicious off balance. He followed with a Tatsumaki, leaving the assassin dazed. As Vicious struggled to remain clear-headed, Ken gathered all the ki he could spare, ran at Vicious, slid underneath punch, and came up, screaming, "SHOOORYUUUKEEEEEEEEN!" The fired-infused uppercut took carried Ken ten feet in the air, taking Vicious with him. They both came down, Ken collapsing to his knees and Vicious fell hard on his back, landing so hard it sounded like a boulder crashing into the ground.

With the assassin finally out of the fight, Ken leaned over on his hands and coughed. He smiled, fell to the ground, rolled over to his back, then took a few breaths. He ran his hands along the grass next to him, soothing his mind from feel of it. He was finally able to start breathing normally. "Kick ass… Ryu…"

* * *

Chun-Li kicked Guerrilla across the face but he reacted with a shoulder tackle that sent her into the wall. After his blow, he realized something terrible.

After his tackle, he stumbled at bit, almost losing his balance. He was starting to lose his equilibrium. To make matters worse, his vision was starting to blur. Maybe he had taken too many blows to his head. He couldn't narrow down the why but he was starting to run out of steam. He saw Chun-Li was in pain but her resolved could not be conquered. He knew that.

He looked at the console then back at her then at the console again. He hurried and ran for the computer and started typing again. He was trying to move the satellite into position early or at least get it close to the battle site. He just set the laser to fire, regardless. The time sped up to 0:30 and began counting down.

Chun-Li looked up, saw the timer, and her eyes widened. "NO!" She ran at Guerrilla and fought him with everything she had. She had to get him away from the computer and get to it and shut down the satellite. She had to save her husband.

But, as determined as she was to get to the computer, Guerrilla was just as resolved to keep her from it.

* * *

Ryu and Akuma were in the middle of a fevered exchange with neither man showing any signs of weakness or stopping. Their battle went from duel from the Hadou masters to war of whose Dark Hadou was stronger.

But they weren't going to stop. Not until their opponent could no longer continue.

After one more exchange of power and skill, Ryu and Akuma stood apart from each other. They gazed into each other's eyes, peering down into the soul of the other, and decided it was time to see who would truly survive this fight.

Ryu entered a very familiar stance and twisted his body as he prepared for his final assault.

Akuma turned to the side, spread his feet apart, clinched his fists, crouched down, tucked one arm close to his side, and extended the other out toward Ryu.

Ryu struggled to stay focused on Akuma and why he was fighting, doing everything he could to ignore the bloodlust in his mind. He started gathering his ki, resulting in strands of lightning surrounding his body.

Akuma gathered his ki and a red aura similar to fire came over his body.

Ryu started seething, "Metsu…"

Akuma's eyes flashed. "Shun…"

* * *

Chun-Li kept trying to reach the console. The satellite was set to fire in ten seconds.

* * *

Ryu's power was reaching its peak, "HADOU!"

As was Akuma's, "GOKU!"

* * *

Six.

Five.

Chun-Li elbowed Guerrilla in the jaw. He reacted but grabbed her shirt and pulled her back.

* * *

"KEN!"

"SATSU!"

Ryu launched the Metsu Hadouken at Akuma as he rushed forward with his Ashura Senku to unleash the Shun Goku Satsu, the Raging Demon, on Ryu, charging right into his Metsu Hadouken. Their kis collided in a magnificent explosion of light with neither man able to conqueror the other.

* * *

Chun-Li kicked Guerrilla across the face and knocked him down. She looked up at the screen in horror.

Three.

Two.

One.

The laser fired.

Chun-Li's mouth fell open and she whispered, "No…"

* * *

Ryu and Akuma were still struggling with another when the laser beam hit the ground with enough force akin to a small atom bomb, engulfing them in a bright light.

* * *

All movement in the control room stopped.

Chun-Li watched the screen in horror.

Guerrilla was wide eyed. Even he couldn't believe that he just did that.

All that either of them could see was the red mark that indicated that the laser beam had made contact.

"R… Ryu…" Chun-Li whispered. Her muscles loosened up and her hands fell to her side. Tears started to fall. She looked at the ground, having to catch her breath. "Ryu…" She shook her head, "No, no…" Just like that, the love of her life was gone. The life they built together, all they had shared, so much that they would've shared, so much more they had planned.

And it was all gone.

She wanted to cry. She wished she could. But, something was stopping her. She realized what it was.

Hatred.

She started shaking with rage. She looked at Guerrilla, the monster who took away the only man she ever loved. He was just getting to his feet and saw her eyes. He'd seen evil before but evil didn't chill him like her eyes did. He'd never seen pure fury before. The fury that could destroy someone else's soul because their own had been destroyed. He hadn't until now.

"You…" Her muscles tightened again. She balled up her fists. "You…" she started breathing in heaves, "you _bastard_." She started shaking even more violently. "YOU KILLED MY HUSBAND!"

She punched Guerrilla so fast that he didn't even see the attack coming. She kicked him hard and sent him into the wall. She stared at him and all she could see was what she lost. And she would make him pay for it.

With his life.

* * *

**A/N: Wow.**

**Don't miss the next chapter. That's really all I can say. Don't miss it.**


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**A/N: Sorry, guys. This took longer to get out because my laptop had some nasty viruses on it. Fortunately, I'm blessed with someone who is very tech savvy and is always willing to help me out with this stuff. So, sorry this took so long but get ready for this! Even I can admit, this is one heck of a chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen  
**

Cammy ran into the garaging area and saw a few H.A.T.E. soldiers still having a shootout with the commandos. She was behind the line of H.A.T.E. soldiers and started taking out all of them that were in her way. She got over to where Viper was ducked down behind a jeep.

Cammy smirked at Viper, "I see things are progressing well."

Viper nudged her head, "Slightly more than somewhat."

"Hey, how'd Selina get here?"

"Got her an invitation to the party. I knew we would need the extra guests." Viper looked over the hood of the jeep and saw Ken stumbling in and fighting off a few more soldiers. Sagat ran in seconds after her, tackling three soldiers at once. "Looks like the whole gang's made its way in here."

"And Chun-Li?"

"She went after Guerrilla. She's with him in his panic room."

"We should leave her to it."

"Yeah, probably. I just hope…" Viper was cut off when her cell phone rang. "What?" She was silent for a second. Her eyes widened in an instant, "WHAT?! WHEN?!"

Cammy narrowed her eyes at her.

Viper nodded, "O-okay. Just… see what you can find. Don't argue with me, dammit! Get in there and see what you can find!" She hung the phone up and began staring off into space.

"What?" Cammy asked.

Viper almost didn't hear her. She looked over at the British fighter. "Go find Chun-Li."

"Why? Who was that?"

"Cammy, just go! The panic room is through there!" She pointed toward the entry way she and Juri fought through. "Take the stairs and find her! GO!"

Cammy wasn't sure why Viper was so insistent but thought it best to hurry, especially if the usually calm Viper was reduced to near hysterics.

Viper watched her disappear then leaned her back against the jeep. Her team following Ryu called and informed her of the laser strike at Mount Meakan. She knew that Ryu had been killed. She just needed Cammy to stop Chun-Li from killing Guerrilla. Viper was counting on the fact that Cammy wouldn't do it herself and that Guerrilla was still alive. Both were a lot to hope for but she could only hope.

* * *

Chun-Li punched and kicked Guerrilla in every way she possibly could. Guerrilla did his best to fight back but he really couldn't mount a decent defense and any attempt at an offense was weak at best. Every punch he threw was at a snail's space and he couldn't even risk his leg for a kick for risk of losing his balance. He swung a wild haymaker that missed so spectacularly even Guerrilla couldn't believe how bad it was. He stumbled and Chun-Li rushed in and assaulted him with all she had. He absorbed the blows with no other choice. She hit him with an open palm across the face once more then moved on to the attacks that she knew would deal the most damage. While he stood wobbly legged, she gave him a devastating Lightning Kick, finishing it off of with one of Ryu's signature attacks that he taught her. She charged her fist shouted, "Shoryuken!"

Guerrilla was lifted right off of his feet, his only thought was this same thing happening two years ago. He landed with a thud, dazed and near unconscious. He looked up to see Chun-Li standing over him. He'd rather it be the grim reaper. It would be a lot less painful.

He knew he lost; he knew that after the laser fired. But he had to, at least, try to fight back. With that, he made one last effort to try to stay alive, possibly even win; he jumped up suddenly, swinging his fist. But, Chun-Li jumped just out of his reach, placed her hands behind her, and gathered a massive amount of ki in less than a second. Her eyes flashed with ki.

Guerrilla gasped.

Chun-Li thrust her hands right into his chest and she shouted, "Kikosho!"

Guerrilla was powerless to stop the waves of energy flowing against him; the Kikosho was a merciless tidal wave and he was a wooden ship that had no choice but to take the punishment. The wave stopped but through him right into the computer console, hard enough to break the metal face of the electronics. Guerrilla landed in the wires and was immediately electrocuted, screaming as the manmade lightning flowed through him. The current lasted about fifteen seconds but it felt like hours to the H.A.T.E. leader. The current stopped and Guerrilla fell to his knees, delirious and completely out of breath.

He was still conscious. He wished he wasn't. He couldn't even make his body move how he wanted. He didn't even see Chun-Li walk up to him. He was just hoping death would come quickly.

Chun-Li saw all of the fight was gone from him but she didn't care. She lifted her right leg high and kicked him hard enough to put him down, causing him to fall to his side and breaking his jaw upon impact.

Guerrilla felt like a boulder and hit the ground with an equal amount of force. He laid completely motionless with only ragged breaths leaving his body. He felt broken. He felt destroyed. Most of all and the feeling he detested most, he felt weak and would've begged for mercy had he been able to move his mouth. But he knew better. He not only failed to rule the world but angered the one woman he thought he could control. And, now, she would be his death. There was no other logical conclusion to what would happen next. He would die here.

Chun-Li beat him. She knew it. She won.

But it wasn't enough. He had to suffer. He had to pay, pay for what he did. Pay for what he stole from her. He had to pay.

She crouched down, turned him on his back, and grabbed him by the shirt collar and pulled him closer. She was seething, nearly growling like the mad beast he had reduced her to. She felt like she should say something. But she couldn't. All could she see was the man who ruined her happiness and future.

She swore, to herself and to Ryu's spirit, he would die. She was going to make good on that promise.

With her teeth gritted and her anger at its peak, Chun-Li punched Guerrilla face. Then again. Then again. And again. And again. Over and over, she punched him in the face, each blow harder than the one before. He was barely hanging on to consciousness and he wasn't going to fight back. He wouldn't if he could. He had no strength left, no power, with his cognizance hanging on by a thread. And, seconds, later, even that faded. His eyes rolled back and his body and head went limp.

But Chun-Li didn't pay attention. She didn't care. Not anymore. He had to die. It was better that he wasn't fighting back. She could kill him just like this. She could make him pay just like this. After all, she had nothing else to lose.

* * *

Cammy ran into the panic room and saw the screen with the data of the target. She wondered what it meant. She heard the blows landing and saw Chun-Li punching a clearly unconscious, even possibly dead, Guerrilla in the face. Her eyes went wide and she ran to her best friend.

"Chun-Li! Chun-Li!" Cammy grabbed her and pulled her away, both of them falling to the ground. She wrapped her arms around her best friend to restrain her. "Chun-Li, stop! What are you doing?! It's over!"

"NO!" Chun-Li screamed as she struggled. "It's not over! He's still alive! He has to die! Get off me! I'm gonna kill him! I'll kill him RIGHT NOW!"

She had never heard Chun-Li like this before. This wasn't the woman she knew. "No! Will you stop?! What's wrong with you?! What are you…"

"HE KILLED HIM!"

"What? Who?!"

"RYU!"

Cammy's eyes went wide. "What?"

"He…" She stopped fighting to get free and took a breath, after she realized what she just said. "…he killed Ryu…" The full weight of the situation hit her again but it hurt even worse this time. "He killed… Ryu… my Ryu…" She stared into space. "He… fired one of the satellites… to where he… was fighting Akuma and…" She tried to continue but couldn't.

Cammy began getting short of breath. "Oh, God…"

Chun-Li held her blank gaze until her eyes trailed back toward Guerrilla. In an instant, her hatred and lust for his blood rushed back and she tried to get to him to finish this.

Cammy reapplied her grip, causing them to struggle with one another again. "No!"

"LET ME GO!"

"I won't! Stop it!"

"Why?! WHY?!"

"Because I won't let you throw your life away like this!"

"HE KILLED RYU! He killed him! He's a monster! He should die! HE DESERVES TO DIE!"

Cammy fought hard to find the right words. But she knew better: there were no right words. "I know…"

"So, let me…"

"No!"

"Why?!"

"Because that is NOT who you are, Chun-Li!"

"You don't…"

"Yes, I do! Because, if it was, you would've killed me when I was nothing more than a BISON DOLL!"

Chun-Li paused.

"You've spent your life fighting for noble causes! To see the bad guys answer for their crimes! The _right_ way! You kill him, you kill him like this… and the Chun-Li we know, the one Ryu fell in love with and married, the mother you've become, is gone. You'll never be that person again."

Chun-Li was still seething as tears started to fall. But she stopped struggling.

"We know about killing in the heat of a fight. It happens. But he's down. Guerrilla's beaten. He won't be getting up for a while. If at all. It's over, Chun-Li. And this won't get rid of your pain. You know that."

Chun-Li's rage started to subside and she stared off into space again. "He… killed… Ryu."

Cammy found herself fighting back a tear, herself. She opened her mouth as her voice caught. "I know. But you can't do this." She remembered what would stop her thirst revenge and bring her back to herself, for sure. "Mei still needs you."

Chun-Li gasped. In that instant, in hearing her daughter's name, all of her sanity came back. Cammy was right. Chun-Li knew that she couldn't do this. She couldn't betray Ryu's memory or fail to be Mei's mother; the latter would be an even greater betrayal to Ryu's memory. Even with no experience at it, Ryu prided himself in being a father, put forth every effort to it, and praised Chun-Li for the mother she was. If she killed Guerrilla and couldn't be a mother to Mei or, even worse, let her hatred prevent her from being a good mother and setting a good example for her daughter, that would be something no one should nor would forgive her for. Ryu and Mei needed her to be strong enough to not commit this act.

Though it hurt her greatly, Chun-Li found the strength to let go of her wrath and started sobbing. She usually hated crying but she didn't care at all right now. She just lost the only man she ever loved. She was going to cry until the hurt went away or at least subsided. She was going to be crying for a long time.

Hearing her sobs, Cammy let Chun-Li go and they collapsed on the floor. Chun-Li continued to cry while Cammy let a few tears fall as she ran her hand over her face. Sitting up, Cammy looked over at Chun-Li and she couldn't even imagine the pain the now-widow was going through. She pulled her best friend to sitting up and wrapped her arms around her, Chun-Li latched on to Cammy and cried into her shoulder.

"It's alright," Cammy whispered. "It'll be alright. Let it out. It's alright."

Ken stumbled in next and saw the scene. He looked up at the screen and saw the impact area indicated by the marker. He looked down at Cammy, who met his eyes.

"What…" Ken started to ask but stopped when Cammy, solemnly, shook her head. His mouth fell open as he realized what must've happened. And he couldn't believe it. "No…" He stumbled back and fell against the wall. He pressed his hands to his face, "No… Ryu, no… no. Brother, please, no…" His best friend was dead. He was too late to save him. He failed him. He suddenly slammed his fist into the wall next to him, leaving a dent. He moved his other hand to show tears falling. "Ryu… Ryu." He lowered his head. "I'm sorry."

Guile, Sagat, and Viper entered next and examined the room.

Viper stared in a stunned silence at the screen. "God… we really _are_ too late."

"Too late?" Sagat asked. He understood her tone meant something terrible had taken place but he didn't know what. "Too late. What… what does that mean? What the hell does that _mean?!_"

"Guerrilla fired the laser."

Sagat's mouth fell open as he and Guile looked at each other. They realized that the term "fired the laser" and Chun-Li crying could only mean one thing.

Guile opened his mouth but closed it to swallow. "You… you mean…"

"Yeah…" Viper said, solemnly. "Ryu's d…" She stopped and exhaled. "He's gone."

Guile and Sagat looked at each other and couldn't believe it. They didn't want to accept it. When they heard a weak, pained, and involuntary groan coming from Guerrilla, hatred and rage flood through them. They saw the terrorist was still breathing and went to finish the job.

"Guys…" Cammy said in a still voice.

They stopped, taking a few seconds before looking at her.

She looked up at them, clearly exhausted. "Enough."

Guile tried to hold to his anger but she was right. He just rubbed his face, coping with the loss of a good friend and an ally. He walked over and slammed his fists down on the disabled computer console. Sagat wanted to be back on the path of vengeance and destruction but then he remembered one thing: Ryu would never want him to do that. He, simply, walked to the door to leave this depressing scene but stopped at the entryway. He felt like a coward if everyone else could stay and he couldn't. After all, they were probably hurting far more than him. Sagat just leaned his arm against the doorframe and exhaled.

Viper felt a spike of guile stab her heart. She felt like she failed Ryu. She stopped trying to lie to herself; she knew that she had. She didn't want this. She wanted to stop a terrorist, not sacrifice a good man, husband, father, and friend to do so. Her usual motto was "Do whatever it takes to get the job done." She did so today and she couldn't have felt worse if she tried. She felt her phone vibrate, which caused her to refocus. She pulled it out of her pocket and answered, harshly, "What?" She was quiet for a second. A stern look with a mixture of surprise came over her face, "What?! How?!" Her eyes widened. "We're on our way!" She hung up. "On your feet, everyone! My people following Ryu said that there's a chance!"

Everyone looked up. A chance. That was all they needed to hear.

* * *

The hours felt only like minutes for the group to be in Japan, after flying to the airport and transferring over to a helicopter to take them to Mount Meakan. Viper's commandos stayed in Hawaii and locked up Guerrilla and his elite team and take them into custody. Chun-Li, like the others, couldn't believe it when they arrived and saw medical staff checking over Ryu, who was lying on gurney. Much to everyone's surprise, Akuma was standing nearby. The helicopter landed and they all approached the scene with caution, especially with Akuma's eyes studying them all. Chun-Li, however, didn't care about him; she ran over to her husband and placed her hands on his cheeks. He looked like he had been through a train wreck but he was still breathing.

"Ryu?" she said, almost unbelievingly. "Ryu!"

"He's gonna be okay, Miss," the medic said. "He won't be moving around for a while but he'll be okay."

No better words could've been spoken to her at that moment. She let out a cry of relief and joy. She still had her love. He was still alive. They still had a future. She kissed his lips, knowing that he couldn't kiss her back but she couldn't stop herself. She kept her face close to his, stroking his cheek with her thumb.

Viper smiled for a second but scowled when she looked back at the hulking demon standing nearby. "Why's he here?" she asked one of her agents standing nearby.

"He's one reason they lived," the agent answered. "All that power they were putting out kept the laser from killing them and he drug Ryu away from ground zero where we found them. He asked us what we were doing here and we told him. He said that we could treat Ryu. But he wouldn't let us leave until all of you arrived."

The rest of the team had no idea what to make of that. And that knew for a fact that, even if they all fought together, there was no chance they would defeat Akuma. They prayed he didn't want a fight. But what he did want was the current mystery.

Ken braved a step toward the demon who was once Gouki for answers. "What…" he swallowed. "Why are you still here?"

"Our battle was interrupted," Akuma answered. "I do not tolerate such things. I want the man who did this."

"He's in custody," Viper said. "You can't get to him."

"He interrupted our battle. He disturbed this place, this sacred battle. I will have my revenge."

"He will face justice! There will be no more death today!"

Akuma stared at Viper. "You think you will stop me?"

Everyone did back off at that threat. No one knew what to really do next. They all felt may be coming and they didn't stand a chance if it was.

In an instant, Ken stepped in between the demon and his friends and shouted, "Alright, _enough!_"

Akuma stared at him, narrowing his eyes.

Ken had to catch his breath just from the declaration. "Let it go, Akuma! For now. Alright? There's been enough fighting for today. Enough with death. We don't want any more of it. We all just wanna go home!" He exhaled. He calmed down, "Please."

Akuma didn't like the idea of letting whoever came between him and his fight go free but he saw that none of them had the heart for battle now and they wouldn't surrender the culprit. It would be pointless to fight any of them. He relented with an exhale. "So be it." He turned around. "It would be in your best interest for me to… never… meet him. Whoever he may be." He started to walk away.

Chun-Li was still stroking Ryu's face but something came to her mind. She looked at the departing fighter and called out, "Akuma, wait."

He stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Why?"

He began to walk on, "Ryu was close to being ready… but we were interrupted. I will not face him based on a fool's wishes and I will not have him die at any hand but my own. We will fight again when the time is right and he will show me his true power." He stopped just before going over the next hill, "Until then, tell him to get stronger. I will be waiting." With that, Akuma disappeared over the hill and no one dared follow him to see where he might be going. Right now, it didn't matter.

There had been enough fighting, there had been enough searching, enough following. The heroes were tired and were looking forward to some long overdue recovery.

* * *

**A/N: So, what did you guys think? Please! Hit that Review button! Your thoughts are so great and they make my day every time!**


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**A/N: All of you are so awesome! Seriously! All of you rock so hard! As of today, April 1, 2015, and this is NOT an April Fool's Joke, this is my most reviewed story! And it's not even over yet! I love you guys! Thank you so much! On to Chapter Seventeen! Enjoy!  
**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

Groaning, Ryu, slowly, opened his eyes. He remembered the fight with Akuma, the power surging through him, then a powerful blast that somehow came from the sky. He didn't know how he survived but he knew that he had to be alive; he'd been in enough hospitals to recognize the feel of the bed and the sounds of the monitors. Before Chun-Li, they were the secondary soundtracks of his life. His vision was still blurry and, as he tried the most basic movements, he started to feel his body tense up with pain. He tried to turn his head and move his arms but found that he was still very sore. He could still perform both acts but it was clear his body went through a significant amount of trauma; recovery would take a while. But he smelled something in the air. Something familiar. His wife's perfume. His eyes began to focus to find that he was, indeed, in a hospital room and he turned his head to see her, asleep in a nearby chair.

A wave of relief washed over him. "Chun-Li…" Ryu breathed out.

Chun-Li, suddenly, woke up with a gasp. She looked at him. "Ryu! Ryu!" She flew out of her seat. She ran to his side, leaning on his bed and placing her hands on him, "Ryu! You're awake! You're okay!"

He smiled at her. He just smiled. Every time he saw her, he knew he'd never seen anything more beautiful. He couldn't feel for more at peace to see her safe. "You're okay."

"I am." Her tears started to fall. "I thought I lost you."

"Not now. Not ever."

She smiled then leaned in and kissed him.

After they kissed, he looked around before setting his eyes back on her. "Any of this seem familiar?"

"What do you mean?"

"Remember the first time we met Guerrilla?"

She started to reminisce about two years ago after they first met Guerrilla in Japan. She giggled. "I do, now. Not the best way to start a relationship, huh?"

"For anyone else, maybe not. But for us… I'm just glad it started." He put hand on top of one of hers, "I don't regret it."

She took hold of his hand. "You don't?"

"No. Not at all."

She started to cry and kissed his hand. "I love you, so much, Ryu."

"I love you, too." He gazed into her eyes, moving his hand to her cheek. "I'm so happy you're safe."

She leaned into his hand, getting completely lost in his touch for a second. "Same to you."

He looked around. "Where's everyone?"

"At a hotel."

"You should've gone, too."

"Did you wait at a hotel when I was in the hospital?"

He just smiled.

She stared at him, dwelling on his near sacrifice. "You fought Akuma… for me."

"I'd fight anyone for you."

"Thank you."

He smirked but began to frown and looked away. "I don't know how proud you should be."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed. "I used the Dark Hadou."

She stared at him. She knew how that must've made him feel. "Oh, Ryu…"

"I let you down, I know." He whispered, "I never wanted to use that power again." He looked back at her. "I'm so sorry, Chun-Li. I never wanted to fail you like that."

She looked him over and gestured toward the bed, "May I?"

He nodded and found enough to strength to move over, slightly. After all, being able to be this close to his wife again was one thing he fought hardest for.

Chun-Li climbed on to the bed and laid next to him, placing one hand on his chest. She looked off at the far wall, "You did what had to do to save me. Mei. Ken, Guile, Cammy. You were fighting for us all."

"But… Chun-Li…"

"Nothing you can say is going to make me hate you, look down on you, think less of you, or anything like that. You fought to save everyone. You fought to save me."

"I used a power that I shouldn't have. I tapped into…"

"I almost killed Guerrilla," she interrupted.

His eyes went wide then he looked down at her in a stunned silence. "What?"

She looked up at her husband but looked away from his gaze. She wasn't proud of herself, either. "When I thought he killed you, I broke. I snapped. I wanted him dead. All I wanted was to kill him. We fought. I beat him. He was down. I knew it. I knew he was beaten. But… it wasn't enough for me. I wanted him to suffer. I wanted to kill him. I punched him… over and over again. I just… I couldn't stop myself. He couldn't even defend himself. And I actually was glad he couldn't. I didn't want him to. Thank God for Cammy or else…" She sighed, bowing her head as she remembered what she did far more vividly than she would've liked to. "I guess I fell into my own Dark Hadou."

They realized, in that moment, how close they were to, not only losing each other, but themselves, as well. It was quite the heady revelation.

He moved his hand on top of hers that she had placed on his chest and pulled her closer. "Anger got the better of both of us."

She nodded, "Yeah." She let a few moments of silence pass. "What do think we should do now?"

He thought about it. "We go home. I want to see Mei. I want to lay in our bed in our house."

She smiled. "Me, too." She sighed. "I want to move on. I want to put this behind us." She took hold of his hand and looked at him. "Do you think we can?"

"We can try. We both lost ourselves to anger but… we came back." He stroked her hand with his thumb. "We go home. And start putting this behind us. One day at a time."

She smiled and moved up to kiss him. "I want nothing more."

* * *

A few hours later, the team, bandaged and taped up where needed, were in Ryu's hospital room, all of them very much glad to see Ryu awake. They were all recounting their separate tales of this latest ordeal, including the moments of darkness and rage, with Sagat rounding out the accounts by finishing up the story of how he survived the H.A.T.E. soldiers chasing him.

"And, after they had me cornered in that house," the Muay Thai Emperor said, "that's when Crimson Viper showed up and saved me. Headed out to come after all of you after that."

Ken scoffed. "Wow. Hard to say who had it harder. At least, we got knocked out before we went to Guerrilla's little bunker."

"Wasn't a fun experience, this," Cammy said.

"Could've been worse," Chun-Li reminded. She looked at Cammy. "Thanks, by the way."

Cammy smiled. "Don't mention it."

Selina walked in next, "Good morning, all."

They all greeted her.

"Any word from HQ?" Cammy asked.

"Same static, Mum," Selina answered. "They have former director Narang on several charges. Some, you wouldn't believe. It's almost like they're trying to see how many international charges they can level against him."

"How many will stick?"

"Quite a few. They're talking a life sentence, easy."

"Better than he deserves," Guile growled.

"As you say. Apparently, he'd been working for Guerrilla even long before the whole Neo-Shadaloo incident."

Cammy grunted. "No surprise there."

"Shouldn't be," Viper said as she entered the room, Selina stepping aside to allow her entry. "Guerrilla's reach does go pretty far. Always has. It's one thing that makes him so dangerous." She looked over at Ryu. "Well, at least, you're not dead."

"Your concern is touching," Ryu said, drolly.

"Where's Guerrilla?" Guile asked.

"Put away," Viper said.

"Yeah, he was 'put away' last time," Ken reminded. "See how well _that_ turned out?"

"Oh, trust me." Viper adjusted her glasses as her eyes flashed something dangerous. She declared, calmly and earnestly, "He _won't_ be getting out."

Her words sent a chill down everyone's back.

"Oooooookaaaaaaaaay," Ken shivered. "Creepy."

"But effective," Guile said.

"At any rate," Viper spoke up, "my… executives want you to know that you will be compensated and taken care of for your part in this."

"The CIA is going to take care of us? Ha! There's a laugh."

"Not the CIA, Guile. They weren't running point on this op."

Cammy scowled at that statement. "Then who was?"

Viper thought about how to answer that. "Other… interested parties. Several, actually. Guerrilla had a long list of enemies and all of them wanted him brought in, CIA included. Some wanted him KIA but everyone managed to agree to take him alive. After… some debate."

"Sorry I almost screwed that up," Chun-Li said.

"Don't worry about it. Wouldn't have blamed you."

"And you drew the short straw to head up the op?" Cammy asked.

"Volunteered."

"Why?" Ken asked.

"Going after the same man who was brave enough to take on Ryu and Chun-Li by himself? Are you kidding me? I thought it was Christmas."

The whole room, actually, had a laugh at that.

"She's got a point," Sagat admitted.

"So, what next?" Guile asked.

Ryu smiled and looked at Chun-Li. "We go home."

Everyone looked at him.

"Yeah," Chun-Li smiled. "We go home."

Ken chuckled, "Damn, that sounds good."

"Glad you two can say that," Cammy breathed out. She looked at Ryu, "I was positive you'd dwell on what happened about you using the Dark Hadou against Akuma," she looked at Chun-Li, "and you using your own version of it against Guerrilla."

"I thought they would, too."

"Same," Guile said.

"Agreed," Sagat nodded.

"You don't think we should?" Chun-Li asked.

"Hell, no," Cammy, Guile, and Ken said at the same time, which caused them to laugh.

Ryu and Chun-Li chuckled, as well, but they sobered soon after that. Though they knew that they would move past this as best they could, it was still bothering them at how close they came to crossing the line.

Cammy, like the others, could easily see it. After all, this is Chun-Li and Ryu; of course, they weren't going to get over it soon. Not without help, anyway. "Look, you guys," Cammy began, talking to the couple, "it happened. You both are passionate, about each other and your family. Even all of us." She smiled. "That just means that you'll do what you need to for family. And, in the little I know about having a family and from what I learned from seeing all of you, I know that you do whatever it takes for family."

"She's right," Guile said. "Don't get hung up on the mistakes. You didn't make them for no reason. You made them because, at the time, all you saw was either your family in danger or you were facing possibility of them being gone."

"Besides, no one was killed," Ken said; the others nodded on that point. "I mean, you probably should've taken out Guerrilla, Chun-Li, but… ya know, whatever. Don't get caught up in mistakes."

"It just…" Ryu sighed. "It makes me angry that I wasn't strong enough to do it on my own, ya know? I hate that I had to rely on the Dark Hadou, at all. I swore I would never do it again and…" He tried to form the right words. "And…" He couldn't find them.

Ken leaned forward in his chair. "Hey. We get it. But, look at it this way: did you have time to prepare? No. Did you have any real indication if Akuma was any stronger?" He paused. "Well, okay, that one's almost a given…"

Guile and Cammy groaned.

"But my point is…" he continued, hoping to diffuse the disappointment, "that you couldn't prepare for that. You had to use what you had at the time." He shrugged. "Okay, so, maybe the Dark Hadou is a bad trump card but… you didn't lose yourself to it, completely."

"What makes you say that?" Ryu asked.

Ken smirked. "Because you're here, now. And all you want? Is to be with your wife, see Mei again, and go home."

Ryu smiled, relieved. The guilt felt about using the Dark Hadou was fading a little. "Thanks, Ken."

"It's what I'm here for."

"What about me?" Chun-Li asked.

"You have a body men would sell their souls for," Cammy said, quickly, "Now, shut up."

Sagat chuckled, lightly. "Look who's talking."

Chun-Li laughed.

Cammy chuckled, shaking her head. She looked back at her best friend, "But, in all seriousness, Guerrilla nearly killed the love of your life. Hell, you thought he had. _I'm_ still back and forth on whether or not you should've killed him and _I_ stopped _you_."

Chun-Li appreciate her words but looked down, still feeling some shame. "I'd just… never felt rage like that before." She looked at her husband. "When… when I thought that I lost you…"

Ryu took hold of her hand. "It's okay."

"If anyone ever tried to kill Julia or Amy," Guile said, "_nothing_ would stop me from getting them."

Everyone looked at the Captain.

"I would rip through anyone I had to make whoever I had to pay for what happened to my family and damn the consequences." He nodded. "But Cammy's right." He looked at Chun-Li. "You did the right thing. Including beating the high holy hell out of Guerrilla."

Chun-Li looked down again. "I just… almost threw everything way."

"And you didn't," Cammy reassured. "You held on."

"Because of you. By myself, I would've…"

"No one does everything by themselves," Ken pointed out. He looked at Ryu then at Chun-Li. "He never would've changed, had it not been for you."

"And so you needed me to tackle you," Cammy said. "Is that really the first time we've had to fight each other? Or the last?"

Chun-Li laughed, lightly. "No chance."

"I guess…" Ryu started. "It's just… all that we've been though… as far as we've come… the anger, the rage… it still got the better of us and it nearly cost us the lives we love, the lives it took a lot for us to build."

"Exactly."

It was a well understood feeling. No one could deny that they probably would've felt the same way had they been in the couple's predicament.

"This may not be my place to say this but you're both just being ridiculous," Sagat spoke up, surprising everyone. He looked at Chun-Li, "You're concerned for a moment of anger? Don't make me laugh. Even if you had killed that bastard, how many more lives have you saved? Kill a terrorist after you've saved thousands of innocents. Yeah, you're nothing but an evil, wicked woman."

Chun-Li could hear his sarcasm but it impressed her. More so because it was making her feel better.

Sagat looked at his old rival. "And you."

Ryu was taken aback by his tone. It didn't have the anger of a rival but more like a father who wanted his son to get over hitting the trash cans with the car.

"Get over it. You've done way worse with that Dark Hadou." He pointed to his chest. "And I'll always have the scar to prove it."

Ryu looked away at that.

"And if you think that I still hold a grudge or hate for that, after all this, you clearly don't know the man I've become."

Ryu smirked and nodded.

"You two are concerned about a moment in time, a single moment, when your fear and anger controlled you. You were fighting, not for your lives, but for the lives of people you cared about. It's not the same thing as some unforgiveable sin. Myself, I have more than a lifetime to atone for. For things I did out of pride, committed some evil just for that." He scoffed. "To fight for something like you two fought for… I hope I can experience it someday."

Sagat's words brought everyone to stop and reflect.

Ken sat back. "Dammit. How'd you have the most meaningful thing to say?"

"All the time I spent running gave me a lot of time to think."

The room had another good laugh.

"You both have come very far as warriors and as people. You cannot let one mistake, which I don't fully believe qualifies as such, think that makes you less of who you are. It doesn't. It makes you human. And, after all this, hell, that should be a relief. It proves that Guerrilla couldn't predict how far you two would go because he had no idea what he was really up against."

"And… what was that?" Chun-Li couldn't help but ask.

Sagat smirked and scoffed. "The best examples of the heart I can think of."

Ryu nodded. "Thank you… Sagat."

He gave a nod in return.

Ryu looked at them all, "Thank you, everyone."

"We really appreciate it," Chun-Li added.

"Don't mention it," Ken said.

"You know? You really shouldn't worry about it. After all…" Cammy pointed between her and Sagat, "no one could've blamed you if you took us out back in the day."

"And heaven knows we were asking for it," Sagat added.

"Sometimes, literally."

"So, we should be thanking you." He smiled. "Actually… thank you."

The couple nodded.

Feeling the pleasant atmosphere in the room now that the worry was gone, Guile clapped his hands together. "Well, now that that's out of the way, I think we should all head to L.A. first, before going to our own homes. Be good to relax there. Have a… nice family dinner."

Chun-Li smiled. "Sounds good to me."

"Ditto," Cammy said.

"Would I be allowed to attend?" Selina asked.

"Are you kidding?" Ken asked. "You're a guest of honor. To, ya know, make up for accusing you of working for Guerrilla."

Selina shrugged, "It's not like I blamed you."

"Still, we owe you," Chun-Li said. "You helped us quite a bit, Selina."

"It was my pleasure."

Ryu smiled. He looked at Sagat. "You don't have to be back in Thailand right now, do you?"

Sagat found that a strange question. "Not really. Why?"

"You fought to save us. You didn't betray us, fight against us, or anything like that. And… your words just now were… exactly what were needed. As far as I'm concerned, you've earned a lot of gratitude, Sagat." He shrugged, "Maybe, if you want, you can consider us family, too. It would be great to have you come to L.A. with us."

Sagat chuckled. "All of you trust me that much?"

"You earned it two years ago."

"And at the wedding," Chun-Li said. "We'd have you over more often if we knew how to find you."

"Wow," Ken said. "Sagat's become Ryu."

"You ever say that again, I'll knee you in the face," Sagat threatened.

"Try it any time, old man."

"Oh, there will be a time." Sagat looked at Ryu, "As far as your offer goes…" He smirked, "I would be honored. But, on that umm… family part, let's see how things work out first. I'm fine with…" He chuckled. "…being a friend for now."

Ryu and Chun-Li smiled.

While she enjoyed the good vibes in the room, Viper knew it was about time for her to depart. She checked her watch, "I need to go. Deal with some H.A.T.E. related matters and finish up a few loose ends." She looked at them all. "Thank you. All of you. For your help."

"Thank you, Viper," Ryu said. "For keeping your promise."

"The least I can do." She turned around to leave but stopped, tapping her hand on the doorframe. She looked back. "I deal in secrets. All the time. I trust so few people that the list looks like a… small page tab on a book. And, with my experiences, it's for good reason." She looked at them all, nodding at them in approval and respect. "It's nice to know that, in the world we live in, some people still value loyalty above everything else."

They felt a great sense of pride in that.

"Thanks again, Viper," Chun-Li said. "For everything. We owe you."

"You all helped me bring down Guerrilla. We're even." She nodded, "Until next time." She left.

Ken looked at everyone. "So…" he smirked, "when do we get to go home?"

* * *

**A/N: Originally, this was going to be the last chapter but, it just got too good, I kept writing and I think the next chapter will be really good, too. After all, next chapter, the heroes are finally at peace. And, we will learn what Viper has planned for Guerrilla.**

**We are one chapter away from the ending and the ever-so-important Epilogue. Honestly? I can't wait to get to the Epilogue!**

**I'm actually sad that this is almost done. I love this world. It's one of my favorite places to get lost in. Thanks again to all of you for making this my most reviewed story! That means the world to me!**


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Chapter Eighteen  
**

It was one more day of recovery and rest before the team decided to leave Japan, bound for Los Angeles. The doctors wanted Ryu to stay a few more days but he felt well enough to travel, though he knew that training would be out of the question for a while. But, for the first time in his life, he didn't mind that at all. This had been quite the ordeal, after all. Besides, they all were just itching to be back with their families; all the pain in the world would be worth it to be with their family again. The flight back to L.A. was so much more pleasant than any flight they had taken throughout this entire nightmare, because it meant the nightmare was finally over. Ryu and Chun-Li knew that it was over but they weren't going to feel like it really was until they had Mei with them again. They landed in L.A. and drove back to the rest of the way in a rented SUV, the ride back to Ken's house being both fast and agonizingly painful.

When they arrived in front of Ken's home, Cammy, who was driving, parked the vehicle, turned the engine off, and looked at the couple. She smiled. "Ready to see your daughter again?"

Chun-Li giggled in joy and relief. "Oh, God, yes."

"Been too long," Ryu said. Though they all knew that he had gotten to see her before the fight with Akuma, everyone knew that he was probably just praying he could see her again.

They all exited the SUV and went to the door. They didn't even have to knock on it, or even get close to it, before the door flew open and Mei ran out and hugged her mother for all she had, throwing herself right into Chun-Li's arms.

Chun-Li crouched down and hugged her daughter for dear life. "Mei!" She started crying.

"Mommy!" Mei said. She started crying, too.

"I missed you so much!"

"I missed you, too!" She rested her head on Chun-Li's shoulder and they stayed that way for a couple of minutes of a beautiful scene. Mei opened her eyes and saw Ryu. "You saved her, again, Daddy."

He crouched down and patted Mei's head. "She kinda saved me this time."

"That's cuz Mommy's strong, Daddy!"

He laughed. "Yes, she is."

Tears of joy still coming to her eyes, Chun-Li looked at her daughter then her husband. "'Daddy'?"

Ryu smiled. "We… had a bit of a breakthrough."

Chun-Li pulled her husband into the embrace with her daughter. "I'm not complaining."

Everyone smiled at the scene, with a tears being shed on nearly all sides. The rest of the house occupants came out and they were warm greetings all around.

Ken walked up to Sakura and patted her on the shoulder, "Thanks for looking after the family, kid."

Sakura rubbed the back of her head. "Just wanted to help."

"You did more than that." He looked over at Sean. "Talk about good timing, there, Sean."

Sean just smirked, "You know how I work, Master."

Ken just chuckled.

* * *

That night, everyone was eating dinner, laughing, and talking. It was a comfortable family scene, even Sagat found himself having a good time. To anyone else, they would've thought they all were, somehow, blood related. In fact, the longer the night went on, the more and more that feeling began to be felt by everyone. As dinner went on, Ryu and Ken noticed their respective somewhat-protégés kidding around with each other in a very friendly way; a trait that Chun-Li noticed, as well. All three of the experienced fighters watched Sakura and Sean then flashed looks at each other as something was clearly showing.

"I have to ask a question," Cammy asked, a little later. She looked at Sakura. "Why were you even looking for people watching the house?"

Sakura shrugged, "I mean, why wouldn't I? Last time Guerrilla attacked, he pulled off what a lot of people aren't even stupid enough to think up and kidnapped Mei. Wasn't that hard to think that he'd have someone watching us. Actually, I thought we'd get jumped long before now."

Cammy was impressed. "Smart thinking."

"And what was all that talk about what you told Eliza before hurling a brick at of their windshield?" Ken asked. "About having to 'earn it' being here?"

Sakura went quiet, looking around hesitant.

Chun-Li was flabbergasted. "What?"

"Sakura," Ryu said, stunned.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," Eliza apologized to the young woman. "But I had to tell him."

"And they need to know that this is how you feel," Ken added. "You can't keep this kinda thing to yourself."

The Japanese girl looked at the couple she lived near, unsure of what to say or do.

"What's he talking about, Sakura?" Ryu asked. "What do you mean, 'earn it'?"

Sakura sighed, deciding to get this out of the way. "Just… ya know? I'm the newbie in your lives. I mean, I get it. I know I'm… kinda of a _gaijin_. I'm just the annoying kid that…"

"Stop that, right now."

Sakura stopped with a look of shock.

Ryu sighed and shook his head. "If that's what you got from all the time you've spent with us… then I owe you an apology. I'm sorry, Sakura."

"No, it-it's okay."

"No, it's not. You are a great help. You're always looking out for Mei and you're a loyal friend."

"If we haven't made that clear before now, then that's our mistake," Chun-Li added. "Because you have always been a part of this family."

"Even when I mess up?" Sakura asked.

"Isn't that a requirement to be around you people?" Sagat asked.

"Said the man who once worked for a criminal organization," Cammy answered.

"It was a dark time in my life. You should know, doll girl."

"I was mind controlled, thank you very much."

"If you say so. For a hypnotized person, you sure had a filthy mouth on you back in those days."

"Why, you…"

"Guys, if you're gonna fight, take it outside," Ken interrupted. "I don't want anything broken in my house that Eliza will yell at me for."

"You got that right," Eliza declared.

"Big Sis!" Mei walked up Sakura.

She turned and looked at Mei, smiling, "What's up, little sis?"

Mei stared at her for a second. "How come you don't think you're family? I mean, you're my sis." She looked into her eyes. "You've been my sis since you came to the house. You're always gonna be my sis."

Those few words brought a seriously warm feeling to Sakura's heart, causing her to fight back a few tears.

Mei smiled. "Sisters forever, right?"

Sakura wiped a tear from her eye. "Right, little buddy. You're right. I'm sorry." She pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry, Mei."

"You don't have to be sorry, Big Sis. Just remember… you're always my big sis."

"I won't. I will never forget. I promise."

"Seems good feelings are horses today, Chief," Selina smiled.

"Always have been around this group," Cammy agreed. She corrected herself, "This family."

Ken smirked. "There's a good idea." He held up his cup. "To this family. Our family. The best anywhere."

"Here, here!" Guile agreed.

They all shared a toast to a bond that transcended blood but ran just as deep.

* * *

The following morning found everyone at the airport, with the Los Angeles residents saying goodbye to their extended family and friends as they prepared to travel the continents travelers. After saying goodbye to everyone else, Ryu and Ken smiled at each other.

"The familiar places," Ken remarked.

"Oh, yeah," Ryu agreed.

"When do you think we'll see each other next?"

"Hopefully, when the world isn't falling apart."

"Works for me."

They bump fists then hugged. They lingered for a moment then separated.

Ryu patted Ken's shoulder. "I really appreciate everything you've ever done for me, Ken. I wouldn't be here… I wouldn't have a family… if you hadn't shown me what having a family meant."

Ken smiled. "I'm proud of you, brother. So damn proud."

Ryu nodded.

Guile lightly elbowed Cammy. She nodded, reached into her bag, and handed Sagat a cell phone.

The Muay Thai emperor took it from her hand and examined it. "What's this for?"

"For us to keep track of you," Cammy answered. "Everyone already has your number."

"Next time you get assaulted by a group of armed assassins, at least, call," Guile joked.

Sagat chuckled. "Alright. Thanks."

"All of you call us when you land!" Julia declared.

"Yeah," Eliza agreed. "We've been nervous enough as it is."

"You got it!" Sakura said. The travelers all entered the terminal.

Ken looked at Guile. "We sure have a lot of family for us all to be a bunch of loners."

Guile smirked. "I ain't complaining."

Ken looked as their extended family disappeared from view. He smiled. "Me, neither."

* * *

After walking through the airport a ways, the group came to an area where they had to split up; Cammy, Selina, Sagat, and Sean were going one way and Ryu, Chun-Li, Mei, and Sakura were going another.

Before they split up, Chun-Li walked up to Cammy and they hugged.

"Thank you," Chun-Li said. "For everything, Cammy."

"I owe you my life, Chun-Li," Cammy said. "I was happy that I could help you in anyway."

"You've been doing that for me for a long time now. Sister."

Cammy smiled wider. "Yeah. Sisters." They separated their hug.

Ryu and Sagat shook hands.

Ryu smiled, "See you on the next go 'round."

Sagat nodded. "We need to have another match one day."

"You have a phone now. Just call."

"Maybe I will."

They released the handshake.

Sean looked at Sakura and smiled.

She nodded at him. "Thanks, Sean."

"Umm…" he blushed, "Yeah… no problem."

She winked at him and two groups separated.

Sean followed after his group for a while before he stopped and looked back down the terminal. He wasn't happy with the way he just said he just said goodbye. He needed to fix that. He looked at the others. "Hey, guys."

"Yeah?" Cammy asked as they all stopped.

"I, uh… need to go do something. Besides, I'm a big boy. I can catch my own plane."

Cammy nodded at him. "Okay. See you around, kid."

Sean nodded, "Thanks." He saluted them with two fingers. "I'll see you when I see you." He ran off back the direction that Ryu and the others were going.

After he was gone, Cammy, Sagat, and Selina proceeded to their own terminals.

With Selina gone on ahead and since she was walking next to Sagat, Cammy decided to bring up a subject that actually perplexed her. "Since when do you notice my body?"

Sagat chuckled, remembering their comments in the hospital. "I have eyes, don't I?"

"You have one."

He looked at her and scowled. "I'm a man, Cammy. Men notice such things."

"I guess I'll choose to be flattered."

"Don't get any ideas, though. I like my life as it is. I don't need such complications."

"That's fine by me. I have no time for your kind of loner anyway. Too much to do."

"Agreed."

They kept walking. They both started to chuckle to themselves. They came to Cammy and Selina's terminal with Sagat's still further down the airport. They stopped and looked at each other.

Cammy smirked. "Happy trails, Sagat."

Sagat gave her a bow of respect. "See you on the next go 'round."

She returned the bow and Sagat walked on.

* * *

Sean hurried through the terminal and found Sakura sitting on bench, tying her shoes.

"Sakura!" he called out.

She looked up and smiled. "Oh, hey, Sean! What's up?" She stood to her feet as he stopped just short of her.

"Umm…" He completely lost his train of thought at that smile of hers. He found his words again, "Uh, nothing. Just…" He chuckled, "that goodbye sucked."

She laughed, "Yeah, it did."

"And, I just don't know when I'll see you next so I gotta say…"

"Yeah?"

"You, um… you kicked major ass in that alley."

She smiled. "Thanks. You, too."

"And… it was really awesome to see you and… I hope I get to again. Like, ya know, soon?"

She kept her smile, adding something playful in her eyes. "I'd like that."

"Sweet." He figured out one way that could happen. "Ya know? I hear there are some pretty sick tournaments in China. I hear they got some good basketball players, too." He gave a quick, nervous shrug. "Maybe I could… stop by and say hi."

She winked at him. "Sounds like a really good plan. As in… you should do that. Like, as soon as you can."

He easily heard that request and couldn't wait to grant it. "Don't worry. I will."

"Good." She moved closer to him and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for coming to my rescue."

He blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Ah! You-you didn't need me to rescue you."

She shrugged. "Yeah, I could've taken 'em all on my own."

He chuckled.

"But I'm not ungrateful, either." She smiled. "It's why I kissed you. On the cheek, anyway. Kissing you on the lips is because I really wanted to."

Sean thought back. He definitely would've remembered that. "When did you kiss…"

He was cut off by Sakura pressing her lips against his. He didn't mind for one second. After she pulled back, he stared her, surprised and blushing more.

"See ya in China… my hero." She winked at him and walked down the terminal.

Sean smiled and watched her as she walked away. He exhaled, pleasurably, and chuckled. "Damn right, you will." He headed for his plane.

* * *

When she got toward the waiting area where Ryu and Chun-Li were, Sakura saw Mei staring at her, wearing a smile that clearly screamed that she saw everything.

"Big Sis Sakura!" Mei said, excitedly.

"SHH!" Sakura shushed, desperately, laughing all the while. "Mei! Do not…"

"Tell Mommy or Daddy, I know. Your secret is safe with me!"

Sakura smiled. "Thanks, little buddy."

"But _you_ have a _boyfriend_!" Mei sang to her.

Sakura just gave her sideways smirk but it turned into a smile. "I wouldn't mind that one bit."

"As far as boys go, he's okay, I guess."

"Oh, yeah, he is."

* * *

Minutes later, Ryu, Chun-Li, Sakura, and Mei were back on the plain, bound for China. While Sakura and Mei were playing with each other in the seats across the aisle from them, Chun-Li and Ryu smiled at them. They looked at each other and held hands, Chun-Li leaned her head on Ryu's shoulder. He rested his head on hers and they both closed their eyes, thankful that things were finally calm again and their peace had returned to them.

"We're going home," Chun-Li whispered, smiling.

Ryu took a deep breath and exhaled away all of the troubles they had just gone through. "Yeah," he whispered. He kissed her head, tenderly. "We're going home."

They could finally breathe again. They were safe again, at last.

* * *

_**A few days later.**_

Guerrilla was led through a dark corridor, of a prison, he could assume, as he had no idea where he was. He was being forcibly hauled by two men who were Guile's size that, even on a decent day, he could've taken but he could barely get his bearings or keep his balance at this point. He hated feeling so weak but there was something going on in his body that made it hard to even make a fist; though he hadn't fully recovered from Chun-Li's onslaught, he knew that there was something making him weaker than he should've felt. The guards brought him to a small room with table, two chairs, a single light hanging from above that shined on the table and didn't give light to much else. The room was dark and damp and Guerrilla took note of something else sitting not too far from the table covered by a sheet. The room screamed interrogation of the cruelest variety; Guerrilla imagined that this wasn't going to pleasant, no matter what happened next. The guards sat the terrorist leader down in the chair closest to them and walked away. Guerrilla saw that Viper was standing on the other side of the room, almost completely shrouded in darkness.

"Feels terrible, I imagine, yes?" Viper asked. "Feeling so weak?" She walked toward the table, revealing that she was carrying a folder.

Guerrilla looked up at her and, groggily, cursed, "Screw you, witch."

"Oh, my!" she gasped, feigning offense. She sat down. "Such language. And I thought you had a much more educated vocabulary than that. But I guess that was all the venom you could muster at this point. But let's get one thing straight right off the bat… I'm the Viper here."

He just growled at her.

She smirked. "At least, you can talk, now. After Chun-Li broke your jaw. Among other bones and vital organs. She really beat the hell out of you." Her grin widened. "Reading your medical report always puts me in a good mood. It never gets old."

He growled again, wanting to strike her for her insolence.

She maintained her sneer. "Oh, I know you want to fight. But you can't and won't. We injected you with a serum will keep you docile while we talk."

That answered his question as to why he felt so weak. This was made worse as he knew that there was nothing he could do about it. "What do you want?"

She opened the folder and began to read, "Ah, let's see what we have here: Neo-Shadaloo, H.A.T.E. Company, the Rights of Death, the Black Fang Syndicate, the Eastern Ridge Mafia, the Eagle Cartel."

Guerrilla's eyes went wide.

"All under the control of…" She looked at him. "Bongani Farai."

His eyes went even wider at hearing anyone speak his real name. He hadn't heard it in so long that he didn't even know that there was anyone who knew it, let alone any record of it anymore.

"Oh, yeah. We know that, too."

"How did…"

"You. Project Cold Soul, from which your little buddy, the one you call Vicious, is the result. Lana Reese, former FBI profiler and psychiatrist. Kirill Alkaev, disgraced member of the Russian military. Kelly Fortune, wanted killer across 28 states in the U.S.A and many areas of Mexico and Canada. And Ludge, orphan and kickboxer blackballed for his ultraviolent methods on the underground circuit. All of your little elite buddies now more than names in a file." She stared at him. "Just. Like. You."

Guerrilla just wanted to hit her. He imagined this is the effect that he had on others when he had the answers they didn't.

She closed the folder and crossed her arms over her legs. "We know more than you can imagine."

"So, why am I here?"

"Because for all we do know, you know just a little bit more, don't you? And we need answers. All of the things that you used to control and how you got them made a lot of enemies. Some of them, believe it or not, are from the original Shadaloo. You even have some of Bison's secrets. Ones we couldn't get. And, over time, you're going to answer a lot of questions. All of them, in fact."

"And if I refuse?"

Viper smiled. She got up from the table, placed the folder on top of it, and walked over to object that had the sheet over it and removed the sheet, revealing a plethora of tools that could only be used for torture.

Guerrilla started twitching a bit.

Viper ran her hand along the tools, "Refuse all you want. But you will talk. Whether you want to. Or not. Sooner or later. Though… sooner would be better for you and later would make me slightly happier, actually." She paused. "Because you have another problem."

Guerrilla swallowed as he couldn't help but ask, "Which…" He swallowed again. "…would be?"

She crossed her arms. "Chun-Li may not be my best friend. In fact, we aren't friends. But I respect the living hell out of that woman. And I have just as much respect for Ryu, who was willing to sacrifice his very life just to save his family. Since I have a daughter… I can understand how far a parent will go for their child."

"Your point?"

"You hurt good, honorable people. People just trying to raise their family. And while I don't usually get mad…" She pulled out a pair of pliers. "…what you did to that family… how you nearly ruined them… tried to rip them apart…" She examined the pliers then looked at the increasingly nervous Guerrilla. "…you really pissed me off."

Guerrilla's breathing became labored.

"You know? Maybe I should've let Chun-Li finish you." After setting pliers down, she took off her sunglasses, tie, and suit jacket. "It would've been a lot less painful than this is going to be." She rolled her sleeves up, "You think you can take it. I know." She grabbed the pliers again, looked at the guards, then nodded.

The two guards who brought Guerrilla in walked up behind him, gripped him, forcefully, and slammed his face against the table. They held him down but let him turn his head enough so the side of his face was pressed against the table. He seethed as Viper slammed her hand on his head and pointed the pliers at his face.

"But let's see how tough the supposed 'destined leader of the world'… really is. Shall we?"

* * *

**A/N: Huh. Okay, that ending. I may have been in a dark place when I came up with that. But, anyway, I thought you guys deserved to have more Guerrilla back story. You all earned it! Anyway, so that is the last official chapter of the story with the Epilogue coming soon.  
**

**But what did you guys think of this chapter? Come on! Let me know! The story is almost over. I know, I'm sad, too.**

**I'm going to save my emotional breakdown and tears of joy for the Epilogue. But, thank you all, in advance, though. Seriously, thank you.**


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**A/N: Okay, remember that part I said about the previous chapter being the last chapter? I was wrong. I'll explain at the end of the chapter! For now, Enjoy Chapter Nineteen! **

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen**

_**Two Months Later.**_

Chun-Li and Ryu were sitting in the doctor's office, with Ryu looking all around while Chun-Li read a book she brought along. Chun-Li hadn't been feeling well for the past couple of weeks and they decided to get her to the doctor for a check-up. After having her tests done a couple of days ago, the doctor asked them to come back to the office for all of the results; he was finishing up a few rounds before coming to speak with them. While they waited, Chun-Li noticed that Ryu kept bouncing his leg up and down for the past three minutes, letting out a sigh of frustration every now and again.

She just laughed at him. "What's wrong?"

"I hate just sitting around," he answered, hurriedly. "And I wanna know what he wants to talk us about."

"Oh, calm down, love. I'm sure everything is fine."

"I know. But he wanted to us come in for the results instead just calling?"

She set her book aside and shrugged. "Okay, I'll admit I have been a little worried about that." She looked at him. "But, if it were anything serious, I don't think he'd keep us waiting like this."

"Good point. But… what do you think it could be?"

She shrugged again, "Relief from the stress? We were both pretty strained to the breaking point with all that."

"Maybe. But… I haven't been feeling all that different. Just healing up from the fight but you can hardly keep any food down. Even if it was stress, you think that would've stopped by now."

As he spoke, Dr. Guo entered the room, "I have an answer for that."

They looked at the doctor and greeted him.

"Hello, to you both. Sorry to keep you waiting. And, no, it's not stress."

"Oh," Chun-Li said, surprised. "Well… alright. Then, what?"

Dr. Guo gave a knowing smile as he sat down, "I'll put it this way: how big is your house?"

She was confused by the question. "Uh, a decent size. Why do you ask?"

"Any room for… expansion?"

Chun-Li's eyes went wide as she understood the implication.

Ryu was totally lost. "Expansion?"

Guo smiled. "It looks like Chun-Li's pregnant. You two are going to have a baby."

The couple stopped. They heard every word but it was taking a while to process all the way through. Ryu's mouth fell open as he just leaned back in his chair. He looked around in a daze as he tried to comprehend what he was just told. Being a stepfather was one thing, having a child of his own was something else altogether.

After Chun-Li had fully realized what she just heard, she started to cry as she looked down at her stomach. "Baby…" she whispered. She looked at her husband, knowing this was extremely new, uncharted territory for him. She was worried as to what he was thinking. Everything was about to change. "Ryu?"

He looked at her and, the second he looked into her eyes, he remembered why he came to her home in the first place. And, just like that time, he thought the same thing: this was more than what he wanted. This was what he needed. It was something he didn't even dream he would ever have. But, when it came to Chun-Li, the idea family not only didn't seem so bad, it was what he wanted. They had Mei and that was more than enough for him but this was making the dream of the life he had with Chun-Li even better. He smiled and chuckled. "Wow." He got out of his chair and kneeled next to hers, placing one hand on hers and the other on her stomach. "Just when I thought life couldn't get any better… it just blew me away with how wrong I was. And I've never been so happy to be so wrong."

"It's… gonna be hard. Are you sure?"

"More sure than I've been about anything before in my life. I know it'll be hard but I want this. I want our family to grow even bigger. Because… this family, this life… it can only get better from here. More than anything this is what I want." He kissed her on the cheek. "I love you, Chun-Li."

She leaned her forehead against his and just let the tears flow. She was so relieved to hear his words. She knew that he had no experience in starting from scratch at being a parent; for that matter, neither did she. But he was willing to try. He wasn't going to run from this. He was going to stand with her, like he had since he showed up at her doorstep over two years ago. All over again, she fell in love with him. "I love you, too."

* * *

The night after the couple received the joyful news, Ryu sensed something outside. He started to stir in bed as he felt a very familiar power. He got up from the bed, causing Chun-Li to wake up.

"Ryu?" she asked, groggily. She was barely able to come out of her sleepy state and focus on him as he stood up. "What is it?"

"I'll be right back." Ryu walked outside to the back of the house, stepping off of the porch, and walking out into the grass. His eyes scanned the area, focusing on the darkness of the trees situated right by the house. "I know you're there. I've known you've been there for a while but I thought you would just look and leave." He stared, directly, at the shadows. "I'll assume, since you're still here, that you want something more." He took a step closer to the darkness. "But you didn't come for a fight, Akuma. So, what do you want?"

The large form of the human oni emerged from the shadows of the trees. "I had to see the truth. For myself."

"And?"

"This is _not_ the path a warrior should take."

Ryu surprised by his tone. If he didn't know any better, he thought that Akuma sounded disappointed. "That's your opinion."

Akuma folded his arms as he, actually, was disappointed in his rival. "Until you are ready, I will make no war with you, Ryu. But do not keep me waiting for too long."

"And how long is too long?"

"Time is nothing to me. However… when you know you are ready, I will know. Don't make me wait after that."

"Why give him the time?" Chun-Li's voice echoed through the night.

They both looked to see her standing on the porch.

"Chun-Li…" Ryu breathed out.

She stepped off of the porch and walked over to stand next to her husband.

"You shouldn't…"

"Yes, I should." She took hold of his hand, interlocking her fingers in with his. "You're never in any of these storms alone again." She looked at Akuma. "Answer my question."

Akuma just stared at them both. "Because his heart is no longer in the battle. It is for you, the girl, and this life he has built here." He looked at Ryu. "I have no interest in fighting you in this state. Defeating you would be a hollow victory. Therefore, I will not be interfering in your life."

Ryu nodded. "Fine by me."

Akuma turned his back to his enemies. "I do look forward to the day when you become the warrior you are destined to become again, Ryu. A worthy wielder of the Hadou."

Ryu took a second to consider that statement. "Maybe this is the warrior I'm meant to become."

This caused both Chun-Li and Akuma to look at him.

"Not for the sake of fighting or the Hadou but for the sake of my family. Maybe all my training with the Hadou is for more than just fighting. Maybe it's to protect what matters to me. Maybe… all those years I travelled and trained… was to bring me to where I am right now. Despite a few similarities, Akuma, I am not now nor will I ever be anything like you."

Chun-Li smiled.

Akuma almost seemed amused by that statement, showing the slightest ghost of a smirk. "Interesting sentiment. Take refuge in your peace, Ryu. For the thirst for combat will find you again."

"Will it?" Ryu asked.

"It is your destiny. _Our_ destiny. We are fated for the battlefield. You and I. To live and die in combat. That is who we are, who we are to become. There is no other option for us."

Ryu, slowly, nodded. "Perhaps. Or perhaps… _you_ chose that fate. Because you saw nothing else worth living for. And that's your cross to bear."

Akuma narrowed his eyes a bit.

"I don't mind stepping into an arena to fight and I do enjoy it. But you chose to live it to an extreme I can't comprehend. To base your life and all aspects of it to the battles, sacrificing your family and even sacrificing your own soul." He examined his enemy. "That was something I could never understand about you. I _will_ never understand." He looked at his wife and remembered the life growing inside of her. "I just found more to live for." He shifted his gaze back to Akuma. "I looked for more." He stood his ground as brave and determined as ever. "I have a home now, Akuma. A family. But that doesn't make me any less a warrior. Never forget that."

Silence past between them for a long time. Ryu wasn't sure if Akuma would attack or not but he refused to be afraid. No matter what happened next, he was not going to let this man-turned-demon cost him his family. And, he realized the most amazing thing: he truly wasn't afraid.

Then, in the most stunning turn of events of the night, Akuma gave a nod of understanding. And, seemingly, respect. "Understood."

Ryu and Chun-Li were, again, taken by surprise. Maybe there was more of Gouki left in there than originally thought.

"We are fated to determine the true master of the Hadou, Ryu. But, as I said, when the time is right. For now, take solace in this life you've found. You have my word that I will make no more war with you and I will not interfere with your life until you're ready. Even then, the battle is between us and, I swear on the Hadou, no move will ever be made against your family, save them challenging me on their own volition."

Ryu nodded. "Understood."

Akuma turned back around. "Grant me this: name the one who sent you after me."

Ryu and Chun-Li looked at each other and thought about not telling him but chances were Akuma wouldn't find him. And he was already showing them a lot of respect. Chun-Li gave her husband a nod of approval.

Ryu looked back at his rival. "Guerrilla. His name is Guerrilla."

"Guerrilla." Akuma let his mind dwell on that. "I'll remember the name." He took another second. "I will give you this one and only word of counsel, Ryu."

Ryu narrowed his eyes.

"Cherish these days."

The biggest revelation of the night. The couple was floored by those three words.

"That is all I can give you aside from the fight and the promise of your end at my hand." Akuma began to walk into the darkness he knew quite well, "Farewell." Seconds later, they could both feel his energy dissipate as he was already gone.

Ryu took a deep breath and exhaled. Chun-Li wrapped her arms around him and pulled her closer.

"Now, it really _is_ over," Chun-Li whispered.

"Yeah," Ryu agreed. He thought about Akuma's advice. "Cherise these days." He scoffed. "I can't believe it but he's right."

She looked at him.

"I'm going to cherish this. Every day. I won't take a day of it for granted."

"I never will, either."

"I love you, Chun-Li. With all my heart. I always will."

"I love you, Ryu. My love for you will only grow… just like our child."

They knew that peace wouldn't last forever but the words from one of the most powerful and terrifying enemies they knew encouraged them; the peace they had now was what mattered. Cherish these days. It was more than just advice; it was a way to live. Live grateful for every single day. And live they would.

* * *

**A/N: Alright, the reason for Chapter Nineteen was because I had planned for this to be part of the Epilogue but it just got too good to shorten and cheapen so I made it all on its own. I think it came out pretty good. What do you guys think?**

**Oh, and the Epilogue? You can read it right now! Go for it!**


	21. Epilogue

**A/N: WAIT! Did you read Chapter Nineteen? Yeah, I know I said that Eighteen was the last one but I explain that in the last chapter! Click the previous chapter button and go check it out! Thanks!**

**...**

**Did you read it? Awesome! Enjoy the Epilogue to _Hearts &amp; Fists II: Retaliation_.**

* * *

**Epilogue**

_**Two days later.**_

Ken, Guile, Eliza, and Julia pulled up in front of Chun-Li and Ryu's house and got out of their car. Right as they were walking up to the door, Cammy drove on to the property, as well.

Chuckling, Ken smiled, "Hey! Looks who's here!"

Cammy got out and smiled. "Oh! Hello, all. So, they called you, too, eh?"

"Yeah," Guile said. "Wouldn't say what it was about, though."

"Must be something big, though, for them to call everyone," Ken mentioned.

"And they said get here right away," Eliza added.

"What do you think it could be?" Julia asked.

Cammy shrugged, "Well, last time they had something this big to tell us it was that they were getting marr…" Her eyes shot open as wide as they would. So, did everyone else's. They all looked at each other for a second in total silence then rushed to the door. They burst through the door at the same time to see Sakura playing with Mei and Ryu and Chun-Li sitting on the loveseat. The happy couple just smiled at their friends.

Sakura just blinked, "Uh… hey, guys. Where's the fire?"

"No fire," Ken said. "But I'm guessing the reason all of us are here is _red hot!_"

"Perhaps," Chun-Li said, giving a coy smile that Ryu was mirroring.

The couple smiling was something that their friends had grown accustomed to and loved it but it was the way they were smiling that was driving them crazy. And Cammy had had enough and was quick to verbalize her frustrations with the couple's current cryptic composure.

"Alright, that's it!" she shouted. "We've been shot at, been in car chases, attacked by assassins, nearly blown up, kidnapped, and, after all that mayhem and destruction, you two call all of us here of the bleedin' blue and we run in, post haste, to find you two sitting there just plain chuffed to bits! I've had it! Now, what is going on?!" She was breathing in heaves afterward, not even attempting to regain any decorum.

Guile stared at her, impressed by her tirade. "British turns-of-phrase are weird."

"I think that's most words I've ever heard her say in a row," Sakura noted. "When she's not talking strategy, anyway."

"Shut up!" Cammy shouted.

"We didn't get nearly blown up," Ken said. "Surprisingly, it's one thing that _didn't_ happen to us."

"I was going for dramatics, ya _git_!"

"There's that word. I've heard it before but what's that mean?"

"Shut up!"

"Ryu _did_ almost get blown up," Guile pointed out.

Ken took a second to remember that. "Oh, yeah!" He chuckled. "I forgot all about that."

"Really?" Ryu asked. "_That's_ what you forgot?"

"What? We weren't there!"

"Gee. Thanks, Ken."

Surprising the travelers, Sagat came around the corner, carrying a cup of tea. "I thought I heard an unnecessary ruckus."

"Whoa!" Ken exclaimed.

"What are you doing here?" Guile asked.

"Giving this 'friend' thing a try." He had a seat on one of easy chairs. "They called me, too."

"They tell you what this is about?"

"No. They said I had to wait for all of you. With Cammy's screaming, I could've stayed in Thailand and still heard what this was about."

"Shut it!" Cammy ordered. She looked at the couple. "Explain why we're here! Now!"

They were about to explain when they the buzzing from Sakura's phone caused her to pull it out of her pocket. She looked at the name and the biggest grin came on her face.

Chun-Li looked at her. "What's got you smiling so hard?"

Sakura blushed, immediately, and looked at her. "What? Nothing!"

"She's been on that thing since before I got here," Sagat remarked.

"Have not!"

Ken snatched the phone out of Sakura's hands.

"HEY!"

He read who the texts were from and started to laugh. "Sean?! Since when do you have Sean's number?"

Her blush deepened. "S-since… that whole… thing! It doesn't matter! Gimmemyphone!" She leapt for it but Ken tossed it to Cammy.

The British agent started scrolling through it. "My God! There's about a hundred texts here since yesterday!"

"THERE ARE NOT!"

"Sounds like a love connection," Eliza remarked.

Cammy handed the phone to Guile. "Am I wrong?"

"Jeez, Sakura," the Airmen said, scrolling through the phone. "When do you study?"

"Probably in between kisses she sends through via text," Julia added. She looked at the few texts that her husband scrolled through. "So… never."

Sakura snatched the phone from Guile, "SHUT UP!" She walked away and sat down. And proceeded to text Sean back.

Sagat groaned. "Can we, please, get on with this? I'm starting to remember why I live a life of solitude. And why I like it so much."

"He's right," Cammy agreed. "Explanation. Now."

"Ooh, ooh, ooh!" Mei raised her hand, excitedly. "Can I say?! Please, please, please!"

"Mei, we already told you," Chun-Li said. "There is some fun that we need to have with our friends and this is definitely one of those times."

She lowered her hand, sat back, and mused, dejectedly, "Ooooookay."

Sakura finished her text then looked at her little sister. "Mei, you know what's going on?"

She smiled. "Yeah-huh!"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Daddy said not to because you're a bladder mouth."

"_Blabber_mouth," Ryu corrected.

"Oh, I am not!" Sakura argued.

"The little girl's right," Sagat sipped his tea.

"Wha…"

"Which is hilarious since she can keep a secret better than the big girl in the room," Guile chuckled.

"Not Sakura's fault she has 'run-at-the-mouth' syndrome," Ken joked.

"I do not!" Sakura argued.

"You must not listen to yourself talk then."

"_Quiet!_ The lot of you!" Cammy shouted. "If your name isn't Ryu, Chun-Li, or Mei, silence is _demanded!_"

Chun-Li had to keep from laughing. "Wow. You really wanna know, don't you?"

Cammy growled.

"Alright, alright," Ryu said. "But, first, let me tell you what happened that isn't as bad as it sounds." He took a breath. "Akuma was here."

All of the air got sucked out of the others at hearing that name again.

"In what possible, conceivable way was that not as bad as it sounded?" Ken asked. "'Cause… that sounds pretty bad."

"He didn't want a fight."

"Then what the hel…" He looked at Mei, "…heck…" He looked at his brother. "…did he want?"

"Believe it or not, he said that he wouldn't come for a fight until I was ready to face him myself."

"He called a truce?" Sagat asked.

"Believe me," Chun-Li said, "I almost wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't heard it myself."

"Heavy…" Sakura breathed out.

"But that wasn't the kicker."

"What was?" Ken asked.

Ryu scoffed. "The last thing he said before he left was… to 'cherish these days.'"

The room went silent as it was impossible to imagine words like that coming from Akuma.

"Wow," Ken was trying to accept that. "Never thought Akuma would have the best advice."

"Not the best," Chun-Li said. "But he did help us realize that we would do just that: cherish every single day."

"And one of the best ways to do that is to share some very good news with the people we love and who made it all possible," Ryu explained.

The travelers all looked at each other in confusion then back at the couple.

"And what good news might that be?" Cammy asked.

"Well… remember when in Paris, you and Ken came to talk to Ryu and I was asleep because I managed to… relax?" Chun-Li asked.

Ken chuckled, mischievously.

"Yes, I remember," Cammy said, blushing a little. "Surprised you're bringing that up in mixed company but yes."

Chun-Li smiled. "Well, we've had a lot of chances to… relax since we got back."

"Yeaaaaaaah…"

"And?" Ken asked.

Ryu and Chun-Li smiled, loving the feeling of keeping their friends on the hook.

"Guys…" Guile was starting to put the pieces together but he needed to hear it from them. "…what are you saying?"

Ryu smiled. "What we're saying is…"

Chun-Li tried to keep from crying. "We're pregnant."

There was not a single twinge of body movement as it took a full minute of total silence for that to register with their extended family. "Pregnant" sounded a like word they had all heard before but couldn't quite place as to where. Slowly, the meaning came back and what it meant began to bloom in their minds. When it did, Cammy, no longer to anyone's surprise due to her earlier outbursts, broke the silence first.

"I'M GONNA BE AN AUNT!" she screamed, ecstatically.

"Hold on, there, Double-O-7!" Ken shouted. "Not before I'm an uncle!"

She looked at him. "Not a chance! I call first dibs here!"

"I've known Ryu way longer than you! Hell, I've known Chun-Li longer!"

"Barely!"

"Still counts."

She stared daggers at him. "You wanna fight that one out?"

He cracked his knuckles, "Anytime, anywhere."

"Hey! What about me?!" Sakura shouted.

"What _about _you?" Cammy asked.

"I help take care of the kid they already have!"

Ken scoffed. "And?"

"Rude!"

"Guys," Ryu said, getting their attention. "Is this really necessary?"

"Yeah, Ryu's right: knock it off," Guile said. "Besides… everyone knows I'm the uncle first, anyway."

"Why?" Cammy, Ken, and Sakura asked, simultaneously.

"Because all of you… are scared of me."

They all stopped and considered that statement.

"He's got a point," Ken admitted.

"Yeah, he does," Cammy agreed.

"Yep," Sakura conceded.

Silence.

"But still!" Ken shouted.

"Yeah!" Cammy yelled.

The four started to argue in circles about who had the right to call themselves the first uncle or aunt. Eliza and Julia looked at each other and burst into fits of laughter. Ryu and Chun-Li laughed, as well, and held hands, loving their family together and they couldn't wait for it to grow.

"Do they realize that, once the baby is born, there will be no such thing as 'first' aunt or uncle?" Ryu asked.

"Well, we could tell them or…" Chun-Li smirked. "…we can see how long this goes on."

He smiled and kissed her. "I love the way you think."

Sagat shook his head at the spectacle he was witnessing of these four powerful warriors arguing like school children over the first ride on the swing. "How have I _ever_ lost to any of you people?"

Ryu smiled. "Off day?"

"Clearly." He sighed. He looked at the couple, "Since this will obviously go on for a while, allow me this chance to say…" He smiled. "Congratulations, you two."

"Thank you, Sagat," Chun-Li smiled.

He nodded in respect.

Ryu and Chun-Li knew that the life they already built was everything they wanted and more but now they were going get things that they didn't even know they wanted or needed. The life they created was already bringing new life to them and to those around them and even gave them to courage to stand up to their most fearsome foe. No matter what came next, their family would be able to weather any storm. After all, they already had. They had each other; that was all they needed.

* * *

**A/N: And that is our tale. And, man, what a ride this has been. I am so thrilled with how it came out. I really am. I can't tell you guys how happy I am right now. But sad, too, as this really is the end of **_**Hearts &amp; Fists II: Retaliation**_**. This was so much fun to do and just so awesome to write.**

**TheMexicanDetective said that I created a SF Universe. And I hardly even realized it. I just did one story. And all of you loved it so I wrote more and more. And, now, look where we are. I did reference it as a "universe" in a one-shot but I was just saying that. But, when I think about it, that's exactly what happened. And I have all of you to thank.**

**Now, of course, to my faithful people, 89niners-best-team-ever, TheMexicanDetective, alwaysdoubted, Laserai, and BasilusGalenus, you guys are the best fans any writer ever had and I'll argue that point with anybody. To all of the others, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I cannot tell you all how much you influenced this story and made it better. I had some ideas but your comments and things you noticed helped me in so many ways. And to all of the newcomers or the ones who read it after its completion, thank you, too. Thank you, all.**

**I have a few ideas of what to do next with the series but I'm not sure what direction I'm going in yet but there are definitely going to be some one-shots coming down the pipe for it, that much I promise. I have to continue in this universe. I, not only owe to you loyal reviewers, but I owe it to the characters, too. I've put them through so much that I just feel they have a lot more to do. If you guys have any ideas, please, leave a comment or send me a PM. I'm open to all suggestions!**

**Guys, just thank you again. I wouldn't be here without all of you. I wouldn't still be writing if it wasn't for you guys. I have a book that I wrote that I plan to have to come out this year. I hope you guys will pick it up when it's ready. I'll be sure to let everyone know when it's ready. Until the next time we meet, thank you all!**

**All my love and respect,**

**T2 Angel**


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